We study the origin of homoclinic chaos in the classical 3D model proposed by O. Rössler in 1976. Of our particular interest are the convoluted bifurcations of the Shilnikov saddle-foci and how their synergy determines the global unfolding of the model, along with transformations of its chaotic attractors. We apply two computational methods proposed, 1D return maps and a symbolic approach specifically tailored to this model, to scrutinize homoclinic bifurcations, as well as to detect the regions of structurally stable and chaotic dynamics in the parameter space of the Rössler model.

We describe scenarios for the emergence of Shilnikov attractors, i.e. strange attractors containing a saddle-focus with two-dimensional unstable manifold, in the case of threedimensional flows and maps. The presented results are illustrated with various specific examples.