Autolycus

Autolycus, the maternal grandfather of Odysseus, is a figure of legendary cunning, thievery, and oath-breaking, whose gifts—both inherited and material—shape the hero's identity and fate. He appears in the Odyssey primarily through the scar he inadvertently causes, the bow he passes to his grandson, and the name he bestows, each object or act carrying the weight of a family legacy that Odysseus must live up to and transform.

Identity and Legendary Reputation

Autolycus is introduced as the father of Anticlea, Odysseus's mother, and is described as "the most accomplished thief and perjurer in the whole world." This reputation is not merely a personal trait but a divine endowment: the god Hermes himself had given Autolycus this gift, for Autolycus used to burn the thigh bones of goats and kids to him, and Hermes took pleasure in his companionship. The grandfather's skill in deception and his favored relationship with the god of thieves establish a lineage of cunning that Odysseus will inherit and refine. Autolycus lived on Mount Parnassus, where his possessions lay, and it was to this place that the infant Odysseus was brought to receive his name.

Naming the Hero

When Odysseus was born, his mother's family gathered for the naming. After supper, the nurse Euryclea set the infant on Autolycus's knees and said, "Autolycus, you must find a name for your grandson; you greatly wished that you might have one." Autolycus replied, "Son-in-law and daughter, call the child thus: I am highly displeased with a large number of people in one place and another, both men and women; so name the child 'Ulysses,' or the child of anger." He then promised that when the boy grew up and came to visit his mother's family on Mount Parnassus, he would make him a present and send him on his way rejoicing. The name "Odysseus"—etymologically linked to the Greek word for "to be angry" or "to cause pain"—thus encodes Autolycus's own contentious relationship with the world, a legacy of strife that the hero will embody throughout his journey.

The Scar and the Boar Hunt

The most vivid episode linking Autolycus to Odysseus is the boar hunt on Mount Parnassus, which leaves the hero with the scar that later becomes the decisive token of his identity. When Odysseus grew up, he went to Parnassus to receive the presents Autolycus had promised. Autolycus and his sons welcomed him, and after a feast, they went hunting at daybreak. The dogs tracked a huge boar to its lair in a dense thicket. Odysseus was the first to raise his spear, but the boar charged him sideways, ripping him above the knee with a gash that tore deep though it did not reach the bone. Odysseus killed the boar with a spear thrust to the right shoulder. The sons of Autolycus bound Odysseus's wound and, after saying a spell to stop the bleeding, took him home. When Autolycus and his sons had thoroughly healed Odysseus, they made him splendid presents and sent him back to Ithaca with much mutual good will. The scar from this wound becomes the physical proof of Odysseus's identity, recognized first by his old nurse Euryclea as she washes his feet, and later by his father Laertes and his loyal servants Eumaeus and Philoetius. It is the mark of his passage into manhood, a gift of pain from his grandfather's world.

The Bow: A Gift of Friendship and Legacy

Autolycus is also indirectly connected to the great bow of Odysseus, the weapon that decides the contest of the suitors. The bow had originally belonged to Eurytus, a legendary archer, and after his death it passed to his son Iphitus. Iphitus met Odysseus in Messene and gave him the bow as a token of friendship, receiving in return a sword and a spear. The text notes that this was the beginning of a fast friendship, although they never visited at one another's houses, for Hercules killed Iphitus before they could do so. The bow, then, comes to Odysseus through a chain of gift-exchange that begins with the world of heroic archers—a world that Autolycus, as a figure of cunning and skill, inhabits. The bow is not taken to Troy but left at home as a keepsake, and it is this very weapon that Penelope sets as the test for the suitors. When Odysseus strings it with ease and shoots through the twelve axes, he proves himself the true heir not only of his own martial prowess but of a lineage of craft and excellence that includes his grandfather.

The Bed and the Olive Tree: A Contrast in Craftsmanship

A final, more subtle connection to Autolycus appears in the description of Odysseus's bed, which he built around a living olive tree. Odysseus tells Penelope that he cut off the top boughs of the olive, dressed the stump, and worked it with carpenter's tools, making it into a bed-prop, then inlaying it with gold and silver. This act of skilled craftsmanship—transforming a natural object into a permanent, immovable symbol of marriage—stands in contrast to Autolycus's world of theft and deception. Where Autolycus takes and hides, Odysseus builds and reveals. The bed becomes the final proof of identity that convinces Penelope, just as the scar convinced Euryclea. Together, the scar and the bed frame Odysseus's journey: the scar, a wound from his grandfather's world of hunting and cunning, marks his body; the bed, a creation of his own hands, marks his home.

Narrative Role and Significance

Autolycus functions in the Odyssey as a source of inherited traits and objects that define Odysseus. His cunning and skill in deception are passed down to his grandson, who uses them not for mere theft but for survival and justice. The scar and the bow are tangible links to this heritage, and the name "Odysseus" itself encodes Autolycus's own anger and strife. Yet Odysseus transforms these gifts: the scar becomes a token of recognition, the bow an instrument of righteous vengeance, and the name a symbol of endurance rather than mere wrath. Autolycus thus represents the raw material of the hero's character—the cunning, the pain, the contentiousness—that Odysseus must refine through his own trials into wisdom and homecoming.