 The character of Ulysses ( in Greek , Odysseus ) has been explored widely in literature . The adventures of Odysseus were first recorded in Homer 's <unk> and Odyssey ( c . 800 – 700 BC ) , and Tennyson draws on Homer 's narrative in the poem . Most critics , however , find that Tennyson 's Ulysses recalls Dante 's Ulisse in his Inferno ( c . <unk> ) . In Dante 's re @-@ telling , Ulisse is condemned to hell among the false <unk> , both for his pursuit of knowledge beyond human bounds and for his adventures in disregard of his family . 
