To begin with in The Odyssey by Homer great king of Ithaca Odysseus was on his way home from Troy Along the way his arrogance and pride has lead him into many traps and has killed many of his men He also angered Poseidon god of the sea which is why he never made it home until 20 years later He has escaped being captured and killed many times but his men weren t so lucky After seeing what he has done and realizes that he needs the gods he finally makes it home to his wife and son after 20 years While some might argue that the goal is more important to the development of Odysseus s character I maintain that the journey is more important because throughout The Odyssey it is clear through Odysseus s actions that his obstacles have taught him to be less arrogant and prideful In the beginning of the epic Odysseus is an arrogant but clever warrior motivated by pride and greed In book 9 of the epic it states So they begged but they could not bring my fighting spirit round I called back with another burst of anger Cyclops if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you shamed you so say Odysseus raider of cities he gouged out your eye Laertes s son who makes his home in Ithaca Odysseus and his men had blinded the cyclops and managed to escape from his clutches Instead of leaving Odysseus decided to taunt the cyclops putting his crew in grave danger
