Adventures of Odysseus in chronological order:

THE ROLE OF ODYSSEY IN THE TROJAN WAR

Odysseus - in ancient Greek mythology, the king of the island of Ithaca. Odysseus' mother is Anticlea, daughter of Autolycus and granddaughter of the god Hermes. Autolycus is a dexterous robber who received from his father Hermes the gift of trickery, the ability to assume any form and make objects invisible. One day Autolycus stole the flocks of Sisyphus, another notorious trickster. Sisyphus caught Autolycus and in retaliation dishonored his daughter Anticlea, who shortly thereafter was married to Laertes and gave birth to Odysseus. Some ancient authors consider the true father of Odysseus Sisyphus, others - Laertes. The version with the paternity of Sisyphus explains the cunning of Odysseus much better, because. in this case, both on the paternal and maternal lines in the family of Odysseus there were famous cunning people: Sisyphus, Autolycus, Hermes, therefore Odysseus himself was destined to become the most cunning of people. According to the goddess Athena, even the gods find it difficult to compete in cunning with Odysseus. The name "Odysseus" comes from the Greek odyssao - ("I am angry") and indicates the fate of Odysseus to provoke the wrath of the gods (for example, Poseidon), who do not tolerate the fact that a mere mortal can be equal to them in intelligence and cunning.
Odysseus was among the suitors of Elena, but in the end he married her cousin, Penelope, who was given to him as a wife in gratitude for the wise advice on reconciling Elena's suitors: all suitors were obliged to take an oath to protect the honor of Elena's future husband in the future. However, Odysseus himself was bound by this oath, and when Paris kidnapped Helen, Odysseus, among other Greeks, had to go on a campaign against Troy. Not wanting to leave his beloved wife and newly born son Telemachus, Odysseus resorted to cunning and pretended to be insane. When Palamedes, a messenger from the Achaeans, arrived at Odysseus, he saw the following picture: Odysseus, harnessed to a plow by a horse and a horse, sows salt. Then Palamedes put little Telemachus in the path of Odysseus' plow and Odysseus was forced to give up pretense.

Soon it was the turn of Odysseus to expose the pretense of another hero - Achilles, whom his mother Thetis, not wanting to send to war, hid among the girls on the island of Skyros, dressing Achilles in women's clothes. Odysseus and Diomedes arrived at Skyros under the guise of merchants and laid out jewelry and weapons in front of the girls, after which they staged an attack by robbers. All the girls fled in fear, only Achilles grabbed his weapon and was exposed.
Odysseus arrived at the Trojan coast at the head of an army on 12 ships. In the war, Odysseus proved himself to be a fearless warrior who did not retreat from the battlefield, even when he was alone against many Trojans:

Here Odysseus the spearman will leave alone; from the Achaeans
No one stayed with him: everyone was dispelled by their horror.
He sighed and spoke to his noble heart:
"Woe! what will happen to me? shame, if the crowds are afraid,
I will run away; but worse than that, if the crowd comprehend
I will be alone: ​​the thunderer scattered the other Argives.
But why does my soul worry about such thoughts?
I know that the vile one retreats dishonorably from the battle!
Who in the battles is noble in soul, no doubt, must
Stand bravely, strike him or he strikes!"

(Homer "Iliad", song 11th)

Having captured the Trojan soothsayer Helen, Odysseus learns from him that one of the conditions for victory in the war is the possession of the statue of Athena, located in the temple of the goddess in Troy. Then Odysseus entered Troy and stole the statue (according to another version of the myth, Diomedes helped him in this).

At the games arranged in honor of the burial of Patroclus, Odysseus won the running competition. Also at the games, Odysseus fought with Ajax Telamonides, an Achaean hero second only to Achilles in strength. Odysseus and Ajax could not overcome each other, then Achilles stopped the duel, telling them:

“End your struggle and do not languish with cruel labor.
Your victory is equal; and having taken equal rewards,
Get off the field: let others enter into feats."

(Homer "Iliad", song 23rd)

A new confrontation between Ajax Telamonides and Odysseus happened during a dispute over who would get the armor of the murdered Achilles. Ajax believed that he protected Achilles' body from the Trojans better than Odysseus, however the armor was awarded to Odysseus. The enraged Ajax decided to kill the Achaean leaders at night, but Athena decided to insure her beloved Odysseus against an accident and sent madness to Ajax. As a result, Ajax killed herds of cattle. When reason returned to Ajax, he could not bear the shame and committed suicide. Even in the realm of the dead, Ajax refused to speak with Odysseus, continuing to harbor a grudge.

Thanks to the cunning of Odysseus, the Greeks were still able to take Troy: Odysseus offered to build a wooden horse, hollow inside, hide a small part of the army there, and the rest of the army to sail into the sea, then to return. The Trojans, not listening to the warnings of the priest Laocoon and the prophetess Cassandra, dragged the horse into the city. At night, Odysseus and other soldiers got out of the horse, killed the guards, opened the gates to the returning Achaean army, and the 10-year war ended with the fall of Troy.