In order to understand literature, it is important to first understand the author's purpose. In modern terms, purpose can be classified roughly into three categories: to entertain, to persuade, and to inform. Granted, the categories can blend, and there are some grey areas, but understanding what the point is will help. Much of the literature of classical antiquity originated in an oral tradition. Consider that many people up until the twentieth century were illiterate and wouldn't have enjoyed written stories as literature; they wouldn't have been able to read them. So what was Homer's purpose? One interpretation is that his purpose was to teach. These were epic poems (the Iliad, which introduces Odysseus, and then the Odyssey, which focuses on Odysseus's journey home) that were handed down verbally in order to show younger generations what virtues were to be valued and why.
So, the classic "Homeric hero" has traits that we would expect a hero to have: he is brave, courageous, a fearless leader, arrogant, superhuman, and has a desire for kleos (glory). These were considered good traits for a leader to have in ancient Greece. Typically, these characters are static and don't change throughout the story, but Homer wants to show growth in Odysseus, and so we see a personal journey as well as a physical one. Odysseus begins the story as very self-indulgent (enjoying himself on the island of Calypso and also in the cave of Polyphemus), but these lapses in judgment cost him. He is arrogant; he thinks nothing of telling the Cyclops his name and challenging Poseidon as he escapes (it would have been much wiser to remain anonymous, escape quietly, and have Polyphemus not know the identity of the man who had blinded him). He is also ruthless, unyielding, and stubborn. But Odysseus is also a hero with a mission: he desperately wants to get home, see his wife and son, and rule over his island home. In order to do so, he must face challenges so that he can overcome his flaws and become the excellent leader he wants to be. If he can learn how to be fearless without being arrogant, clever without being unwise, and heroic without being consumed by his own conceitedness, he will be a good king, and his son, through his example, will also be worthy. As great as he is, he has to accept that even he cannot overcome the forces of nature and the gods; there are universal elements are greater than us. That is why Odysseus must learn humility. He fails many times, but by the time his twenty-year journey is ended, he finally learns that family and the simple comforts of home are to be cherished with a humble heart.
This is an interesting question because I think most readers would agree that Odysseus is not humble at all. He is pretty arrogant, for example, when leaving the Cyclopes' Island after blinding Polyphemus. He wants credit for being the person to best the monster, and so he proudly tells the Cyclops his name. This prompts Polyphemus to pray to his father, Poseidon, god of the sea, to prevent Odysseus's getting home to Ithaca or at least make it incredibly hard. There are several such examples.
If there is one way in which Odysseus is actually humble, it is in regard to the gods. He clearly respects them, and this curries a lot of favor with all of the immortals but Poseidon, especially Athena. When she is trying to convince Zeus to intervene with Calypso on Odysseus's behalf, she reminds him of this, asking, "Did not Odysseus pay you honor by the Argive ships and offer sacrifices on the plain of Troy?" And Zeus is forced to admit that "Odysseus is beyond all mortal men in . . . giving honor to the immortal gods." In this way, then, Odysseus is humble: he knows his place when it comes to the gods.
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