One of the most famous heroes of literature, Ulysses is an important leader on the Greek side during the Trojan War, and his invention of the Trojan Horse helps the Greeks win the war. On his way back to Greece, Ulysses’s small fleet of three ships gets into a series of troubles fighting gods and monsters, until all the ships are lost and he wanders alone for many years before finally finding his way home. Ulysses has all the traits of a classic hero: courage, ambition, loyalty, resourcefulness, and a heart for adventure. His exploits and the decisions he makes were first described in epic poems by Homer nearly 3,000 years ago, and they set the standard for heroic quests in Western literature.

Brother of Zeus and god of the sea, Poseidon goes his own way, often at war with the other gods. When he learns that Ulysses has wounded his son Polyphemus the Cyclops, he becomes angry and hunts the warrior with storms and monsters, dashing his ships, killing his men, and trying again and again to drown Ulysses. The other gods, unhappy with Poseidon’s vendetta, quietly offer aid and comfort to Ulysses. Poseidon loses his bid to prevent Ulysses from returning home, but prophecy predicts that Ulysses will die at the hand of his own child, using a stinger from the sea as a weapon.