Home › Glossary › Letter U

Ulysses

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The legendary Greek king of Ithaca, famed for his cunning and endurance in Homer’s Odyssey, embodying intelligence over brute strength.

Detailed Definition
Odysseus, famed for his intelligence and endurance, endured a decade-long journey home after Troy, facing monsters, gods, and temptations. His Roman name is Ulysses. Poets reference him as the archetype of the wandering hero, the power of wit over strength, and the complex longing for home and identity.
Example
Example in poetry:
Homer’s Odyssey centers on Ulysses’s (Odysseus’s) cunning journey home; Virgil’s Aeneid portrays him as deceitful architect of Troy’s fall; Dante’s Inferno places him in Hell for fraudulent counsel; Ovid’s Metamorphoses references his wanderings and transformations; Later Renaissance poetry uses Ulysses as symbol of restless intellect; In allegory, he embodies the questing human spirit.
Additional Notes
Ulysses (Odysseus) is the cunning hero of the Odyssey, known for intelligence, endurance, and nostos (homecoming). Students should contrast his metis (cunning) with Achilles’ bie (strength). Virgil portrays him as deceitful; Dante places him in Hell for overreaching. Later, he symbolizes the questing intellect (e.g., Joyce’s Ulysses). Related: Penelope, Telemachus, trickster archetype.
Also Known As
Odysseus of Ithaca Wily Wanderer Son of Laertes Hero of the Odyssey Odysseus
Skip to main content