Arrogance In The Odyssey

How does a mortal man make it through many trials against creatures no one could ever imagine to be real? Well, Odysseus has done it. Odysseus is a mortal who gets stuck on a very very long journey because of gods sending storms at his ships on his way home from the Trojan War. This journey took 10 years, so obviously it changed his life drastically. Along this journey, there were many times he almost died, but his intelligence and bravery came through and kept him alive. Although Odysseus is intelligent and brave, his pride and arrogance can get the best of him, but his determination is ultimately what gets him through his journey alive.

Odysseus’ intelligence and bravery/leadership were two of his strongest traits that helped him throughout

Odysseus often lets his pride get the best of him. For example, after Odysseus got him and his men out of the Cyclops’ cave, he felt the need to say, “if ever a mortal man inquire how you were out to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye,” (459). Then when the Cyclops tries to invite Odysseus back, he says, “If I could take your life I would and take your time away, and hurl you down to hell” (479-480). After this, the Cyclops tells Poseidon to send storms their way, and he does, back-tracking Odysseus and his crew for years. If Odysseus just kept his mouth shut and held in his pride, him and his men wouldn't have gotten into more trouble and could've gotten out of the Cyclops’ land unharmed. Also, when Odysseus and his men are sailing from Troy, and they get to the Cicones, they end up beating the Cicones and then, instead of leaving, they decided to party and that came back to bite them in their butts. After this happens and the Cicones came back and killed a bunch of Odysseus’ men, Odysseus says, “I told them: ‘Back, and quickly! Out to sea again! My men were mutinous, fools, on stores of wine”(46-48). Instead of taking responsibility for this, he completely blames his men. His reaction to this event is selfish and arrogant, he should have appreciated all that his men have done for him more and taken some responsibility for what happened. They are

His intelligence and bravery would not have been enough for him to get home alive in the end. For example, when Odysseus’ ship got blown back to Scylla and Charybdis, he had nowhere to stand, “overshadowing Charybdis pool. But, [he] clung grimly[...] how long, with what desire, [he] waited,” (976-979) until it was nighttime and no one was awake to hear him move. Odysseus held on to a cliff for hours and hours because he was so determined to get out alive and make it home. He could’ve easily let go and given up, but instead he waited. After it hit night time and Odysseus finally let go, “once through the strait, nine days [he] drifted in the open sea before [he] made shore” (989-990). Odysseus had to row his ship by himself, day and night, with no break, for nine days. The only reason Odysseus went through this horror was because he was so determined to get home. Without this determination, he wouldn’t have gotten home and would have