son and successor of King Laertes of Ithaca. A leader of Greek
forces during the Trojan War, Odysseus was noted (as in the Iliad)
for his cunning strategy and his wise counsel. He is the central
figure of the Odyssey, which tells of his adventures after the fall
of Troy. In post-Homeric legend, however, he was pictured as a
wily, lying, and evil man. He avoided service in the Trojan War by
feigning madness—until exposed by Palamedes, whom he later
treacherously caused to be executed.