# Ulysses — Troilus and Cressida character guide

> Ulysses in Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Ulysses Nestor, Ulysses The great Achilles, Ulysses Achilles, Ulysses Troy, Lord Ulysses, Ulysses Sir, Ulysses A, Exit Ulysses

**First appearance:** 0005-act-i-scene-iii

## Snapshot

The Greek commander whose eloquence and cold political cunning make him the strategist of a stalled army, always reading men as carefully as books.

## Who they are

Ulysses moves through the Greek camp diagnosing its sickness — pride, faction, and the sulking of Achilles — and prescribing order as the cure. He trades prophecies with Hector about Troy's coming fall, then turns his analysis on Achilles, arguing that a man only knows himself through others' eyes. His rhetorical power and appetite for manipulation make him the play's chief architect of Greek strategy, and the early-middle war council scenes belong largely to him.

## Relationships

### [Troilus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se/characters/troilus)

_rivalry_

Ulysses, the cunning Greek strategist, opposes Troilus intellectually and politically, representing Greek guile against Trojan passion.

### [Troilus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se/characters/troilus)

_rivalry_

Ulysses, the cunning Greek strategist, opposes Troilus intellectually and politically, representing Greek guile against Trojan passion.

### [Troilus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se/characters/troilus)

_rivalry_

Ulysses, the cunning Greek strategist, opposes Troilus intellectually and politically, representing Greek guile against Trojan passion.

## In the story

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se/chapters/act-i-scene-iii)

Greek strategist who proposes using Ajax to counter Achilles' pride and prevent him from gaining glory.

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-iii)

Advises against sending Ajax to Achilles, manipulates Ajax's pride, and proposes Ajax as a champion.

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-iii)

Devises the plan to ignore Achilles and later confronts him about his pride and love for Polyxena.

### [Scene V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-v)

Welcomes Hector, describes Troilus's character, and agrees to guide Troilus to Calchas's tent.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se/chapters/act-v-scene-i)

Advises Troilus to follow Diomedes to Calchas' tent.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se/chapters/act-v-scene-ii)

Guides Troilus and urges him to remain patient during the observation.

### [Scene V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se/chapters/act-v-scene-v)

Announces Achilles's arming for vengeance and Ajax's rage against Troilus.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se/characters/ulysses
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/troilus_and_cressida_se/characters