Which thieving son of Hermes was the grandfather of Odysseus?

Autolycus was the thieving son of Hermes and the grandfather of Odysseus.

Greek mythology portrays Autolycus as a master thief whose divine ancestry came from Hermes, the god associated with trickery, travel, and commerce. His talents were extraordinary: some stories say he could alter the appearance of stolen animals or make them impossible to identify. He became famous for stealing livestock, including herds connected with the clever king Sisyphus.

Autolycus was the father of Anticlea, who married Laertes and became the mother of Odysseus. This makes Autolycus Odysseus’s maternal grandfather. Homer’s Odyssey also links Autolycus with the naming of the infant Odysseus, explaining the name through a word associated with anger or hostility.

The genealogy varies across ancient sources, particularly over Autolycus’s mother and, in some traditions, Odysseus’s biological father. Those variations do not alter the standard identification of Autolycus as the Hermes-descended trickster in this question. He is also associated with training Heracles in wrestling and with the Argonaut tradition.