Odysseus has traditionally been viewed as Achilles' antithesis in the Iliad:[35] while Achilles' anger is all-consuming and of a self-destructive nature, Odysseus is frequently viewed as a man of the mean, a voice of reason, renowned for his self-restraint and diplomatic skills.

In Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus (/əˈdɪsiəs/ ə-DISS-ee-əs;[1] Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, translit. Odysseús.mw-parser-output .noitalic{font-style:normal}, Odyseús, .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}IPA: [o.dy(s).sěu̯s]), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses (/juːˈlɪsiːz/ yoo-LISS-eez, UK also /ˈjuːlɪsiːz/ YOO-liss-eez; Latin: Ulysses, Ulixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in that same epic cycle.[2]

The Perseus Project at Tufts, founded in 1985, includes both Greek and English versions of the Iliad and the Odyssey, along with commentaries.

Alexander possessed an additional weapon: Homer’s Iliad. He had learned to read and write by studying this text as a young man, and thanks to his teacher, the philosopher Aristotle

The Greek historian Plutarch, who lived in the first century A.D., wrote that the epics owed their existence as complete poems to Lycurgus, an early ruler of Sparta, who encountered them during his travels in Asia Minor