A hero and companion of Odysseus on their return from Troy. He dies in an accident on Kirke's island. Odysseus, in his visit to the entry to the Underworld, meets Elpenor's shade (spirit). The meeting is shown in art.
Above: Odysseus, Hermes and Elpenor. Detail from Athenian red-figure clay vase about 475-425 BC. Boston (MA) Museum of Fine Arts 34.79 William Amory Gardner Fund. Photo E3302 © Boston (MA) Museum of Fine Arts
