The character Odysseus is a protagonist whose extraordinary adventures are featured in Homer's Odyssey, which is an epic poem, and Sophocles' Philoctetes, which is a tragedy. This essay will show the differences and similarities of Odysseus' character in these two excerpts. The two excerpts have a similar portrayal of Odyssey because they both illustrate how cunning his character is. In particular, they highlight how he uses this skill to devise schemes. In Homer's work Odysseus uses a plan to disguise himself as a man from Crete to deceive the goddess Athena, who is impressed by his cunning calling him "fox, ingenious". The fact that Odysseus receives this praise from a goddess demonstrates his ability to think of cunning plans. Likewise in Sophocles' version, Odysseus is cunning, as demonstrated by his plot to deceive Philoctetes. Odysseus orders Neoptolemus to "seize Philoctetes by deception." This manipulative plan illustrates this characteristic in Ulysses because of the careful strategy and finesse he implements to succeed. Further evidence for this par...