The legend of Odysseus is the subject of Homer's
Odyssey. He was Agamemnon's intermediary and was in command of
twelve ships on the voyage to Troy. He was
well known for both the wisdom of his council and the courage with which
he fought throughout the war. Finally, it was his idea to construct the
wooden horse which successfully fooled the Trojans. He commanded the unit inside the horse
and was said to have been the first one out of the horse. He then
reportedly saved Helen from her husband Menelaus.
Germane to Socrates' situation is the belief that Zeus had acknowledged Odysseus as the wisest of men just as the oracle of Apollo had said to Socrates generations later.