ULYSSES, ULYXES, AND ULIXES, the Latin forms of the Greek ODYSSEUS, i.e., the " Angry," the name of one of the mast celebrated heroes of the Trojan war. Differeu accounts are given of his parentage; but according to the oldest legend, the Homeric, he was the son of Laertes, prince of Ithaca (one of the Ionian isles), and of Amieleia, daughter of Autolycus. According to a later account, his father was the, orally Sisy phus; whence he is sometimes called, by way of reproach, Sisyphides. He manic 1 Penelope (q.v.), by whom he became the father of Telemachus. While still a youth. lie had acquired a reputation for courage, eloquence, and address. When the expeditioa against Troy was resolved on, Agamemnon visited Ithaca, and prevailed on Ulysses, though with difficulty, to take part in it. Later traditions, or, as in this case, perhaps we ought to call them inventions, go on to exaggerate the reluctance of Ulysses to leave his home, and represent him as feigning madness—an artifice which did not, however, succeed. Before hostilities broke out, Ulysses, in conjunction with Menelaus and Pala medes, was sent to Troy, with the view of persuading the Trojans to give up Helen and her treasures; but this little bit of diplomacy having failed, the Greek princes assembled their fleets in the port of Aulis, and sailed for Troy, Ulysses bringing with him twelvi ships. During the siege, Ulysses performed important services for the Greeks. In pru dence, ingenuity of resource, and finesse, he was the foremost of the Hellenic chiefs, while in courage he was inferior to none. After the fall of Troy, the most interesting part of Ulysses s career begins. add forms the subject of the Homeric poem called the Odyssey. Several of his adventures are manifestly of eastern origin, and closely resemble those of &abaci the Sailor. Setting sail for home, his ships were driven by a storm on the coast of Thrace; where he plundered the town of Ismarns, but lost a number of his crew. Having re-embarked. a north wind blew them across the YEgean and the Levant, to the country of the Lotophagi (the "Lotus-eaters"), on the coasts of Libya. where the companions of Ulysses ate of the wondrous fruit, and wished td rest forever. (Our readers will remember Tennyson's delicious rendering of this episode.) But their leader compelled them to leave the land "in which it ahvay seemeth afternoon:" and sailing n. again, they touched at the " island of goats," where Ulysses left all his ships Imt one. Thence he proceeded westward, till lie reached the " island of the Cyclopes" (Sicily), where occurred the incident narrated under PoLveunmus (q.v.). The island of .tEolus, and the city of the Lmstrygones (a race of cannibals), whither fortune and the winds next carried the ITellenic chief, are supposed to lie only names for particular parts of Sicily. Thence lie sailed westward to the island of .ZEma, inhabited by the sorceress Circe (q.v.). After a year's sojourn, he departed, and sailing still further w., crossed Oceanus, the " ocean-stream," into the country of the Cimmerians (q.v.), where dark ness reigns perpetually. Here (following the advice of Circe) be descended into Hades (q.v.), and inquired at the blind seer Teiresias how he might get back to his native land. Teiresias disclosed to the fact of the implacable enmity of Poseidon (Neptune), on account of his having rendered Polyphemus (who was a son of Poseidon by the nymph Thoosa) blind, but encouraged him at the same time with the assurance that he would Tet reach Ithaca in safety, if he would not meddle with the herds of Helios (the sun-god) in Thrinacia. Ulysses now retraced his course, and once more visited Circe, the kindly
sorceress, who forewarned him of the dangers he would yet have to encounter, and how to act. A w. wind blew then past the perilous island of the Sirens (q.v.) to the coasts of Italy. In passing between Scylla and Charybdis, the monster that inhabited the first of these rocks devoured six of Ulysses companions. He next came to Thrinacia, which he would fain have passed by, but his crew insisted on landing, and in spite of their oath, killed some of the cattle of Helios while Ulysses was asleep. The anger of Zeus. was kindled. When they had sailed away, a fierce storm arose, and Zeus sent forth a. flash of lightning that destroyed the ship. Every one on board was drowned except Ulysses himself, who, after many dangers, reached the island of Ogygia, the abode of the nymph Calypso, with whom he lived for eight years. After his departure (which was commanded by Zeus, who had promised to Athene that Ulysses should one day see Ithaca again—the poet always represents him as having a longing after his native isle), Poseidon persecuted him with a storm, and cast him on the shores of Scheria, the island of the Plmacians, in a very forlorn and indescribable condition. He was, however, very kindly received by Nausicaa, daughter of king Alcinous; and having revealed his name at a feast, the monarch provided him with.a ship to carry him home. Ulysses was asleep when the vessel approached the coast of Ithaca; and the Phteaciau sailors who had accom panied him bore the unconscious hero to the shore, and left him there. When he awoke, he did not at first recognize where he was; but Athene appearing, informed him, and of all that had happened to Penelope (q.v.) in his absence. Disguised as a beggar, he repaired to his own court, where he was recognized by his nurse, and, as Homer touchingly describes, by his old dog, Argus. Aided by Telemachus, and the swine-herd Eumnus, he took vengeance upon the insolent suitors of his wife, all of whom, without exception, he slew. Homer records nothing more of Ulysses's history; but he makes. Teiresias prophesy, in the 11th book, that the hero would meet a painless death in a. happy old age. Another tradition says that he was slain by Telegonus, his son by Circe. Later poets, e.g., Virgil and Ovid, represent Ulysses as a much less noble and valiant character than he appears in Homer; his wisdom and subtlety are changed into cunning and deceit; and instead of heroic courage, he displays the spirit of a coward.
UM is a Kaffir or Zulu word signifying river, and is used as prefix in the names of most of the rivers on the s.e. coast of Africa, from the Great Kei, where the names of Hottentot origin appear to cease, as far to the n.e. nearly as the Sofala coast, where the names Imbambane, Imhampoora, have the same prefix in a corrupted shape. Among the principal rivers on this coast bearing this prefix may be mentioned the Umgazi, Umbashee, Umtata, Umzitnvoobo, and Umzimcula, draining Independent Kalfraria; the Umcomanzi and Umtugela, in the colony of Natal; and the Umfolusi, Umblatoozi, and Umapoota, between Natal and Delagoa bay. The Hottentot word Kei has the same meaning, and is still preserved in the Kei and Keiskamma rivers, the Ker iega, Keisuga, and other streams on the e. coast of Cape Colony.