| A | B |
|---|
| Odysseus | king of Ithaca, returning from war |
| Penelope | Odysseus' faithful wife |
| Telemachus | Odysseus' and Penelope's son |
| Antinous | evil leader of the suitors, first to die |
| Eumaeus | swineherd who assists Odysseus on his return to Ithaca |
| Eurycleia | devoted nurse to both Telemachus and Odysseus |
| Eurymachus | suitor who is the second to be killed |
| Irus | favorite beggar of the suitors |
| Laertes | Odysseus' father |
| Melanthius | servant who betrays Odysseus |
| Menelaus | king of Sparta |
| Mentor | friend of Odysseus, like Telemachus' second father |
| Argos | Odysseus' dog who dies when he sees his master |
| Circe | changes Odysseus' crew into swine |
| Aeolus | god of the winds |
| Poseidon | god of the sea |
| Helen | wife of Menelaus |
| Polyphemus | one-eyed giant |
| Athena | daughter of Zeus |
| Calypso | kept Odysseus captive on island |
| Zeus | king of the gods |
| Tiresias | blind seer Odysseus meets in the land of the dead |
| Hermes | messenger of the gods |
| Nestor | king of Pylos |
| Peisistratus | son of Nestor, accompanies Telemachus to Sparta |
