# Odysseus — Fifty-One Tales character guide

> Odysseus in Fifty-One Tales by Lord Dunsany.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0009-death-and-odysseus

## Snapshot

The weathered hero of Ithaca, warming his pale hands by the fire, who greets Death as an old servant and leans on him like a crutch.

## Who they are

Odysseus appears late in life, white-locked and bent over a hearth, when Death comes to frighten him and finds instead a man who once made him work around Ilion. Their exchange is the collection's sharpest reversal: the trickster-hero treats the terror of the gods as a familiar, slightly tiresome subordinate. His brief scene matters because it shows what mortal cunning looks like when it has outlived its own legends.

## Relationships

### [Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/death)

_rivalry_

Death and Odysseus are adversaries, with Odysseus cunningly evading Death's grasp through wit and endurance.

### [Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/death)

_rivalry_

Death and Odysseus are adversaries, with Odysseus cunningly evading Death's grasp through wit and endurance.

## In the story

### [Death and Odysseus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/death-and-odysseus)

Odysseus is found in Ithaca warming his hands by the fire. He shows no fear of Death, addressing him as 'old servant' and recalling their shared history at Troy.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/odysseus
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters