Odysseus also known by the Roman name Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and a hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in that same epic cycle. He is most famous for the ten eventful years he took to return home after the decade-long Trojan War and his famous Trojan horse ploy to capture the city of Troy.