How Did Tragedysseus Change Throughout The Odyssey

As The Odyssey begins Homer places Odysseus on a tiring and progressing journey to find humility after nine years of self-serving pride and glory in the Trojan War. While Homer focused much of The Iliad on how one ought to achieve excellence, he turns this point around and attempts to convey the message of the results of letting your pride get the best of you. Throughout Odysseus’ many trials, he learns to find hope in his darkest times and stay humble even when he seems to deserve it all. After fighting for nine years in Troy, Odysseus is ready to come home loaded with all the glory and spoils of war. Yet on his return trip, Odysseus’ journey was waylaid and Odysseus and his crew are faced with several onerous tasks deterring their voyage home. When Odysseus and his men arrived at the island of the Cicones, they still have a warlike mindset and without hesitation they attack the inhabitants of the land. While they did need resources, nine years at

Here his final transformation takes place and his true character is revealed. Taking Tiresias advice, Odysseus, after twenty years away from home, is forced to humble himself even before a lowly swineherd and take the swineherd’s advice. Odysseus demonstrates this great change of heart when he purposely lets his own dogs attack him so that his beggar identity will be concealed. “Suddenly—those snarling dogs spotted Odysseus, charged him fast—a shatter of barks—but Odysseus sank to the ground at once . . . but here and now, on his own farm, he might have taken a shameful mauling” (Homer, 302). Now, Odysseus comes to realize that all of his journey, and all of his trials had prepared him for this one moment, for this moment of humility. Odysseus in his own kingdom was able to humble himself even before the lowest in his realm thus showing his vast change in character from the commencement of this