In The Odyssey, Zeus sends Hermes to the island where Odysseus is trapped to persuade Calypso to let Odysseus free. It could be argued that this is not an educational experience because the gods are the ones who controlled both situations; however, because both Odysseus and Gilgamesh were able to deal with the type of solitude that they had to go through makes them each a stronger and wiser person. .
Another lesson of leadership they must learn is to control their pride. While both Gilgamesh and Odysseus are superior human beings, they don't know when to keep their mouths shut "and when not to challenge the gods In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh turns down Ishtar when she proposes to him and taunts her with: "Here's a song I made for you (a little rude, a little crude): Ishtar is the hearth gone cold, a broken door that cannot hold, a fort that shits its soldiers out, a commandant who'll only pout; tar that can't be washed away, a broken cup, stained and gray; and worse than that or even this, a god's own sandal filled with piss."" (p. 37) It's not worth whatever brief satisfaction it brings him; it enrages Ishtar and causes her to convince her father to bring down the Bull of Heaven to kill Enkidu. .
Odysseus also lets pride get in the way of common sense. His first mistake is identifying himself as the enemy of Cyclops' father. "My ship? Poseidon smashed it to pieces against the rocks at the border of your land. He pushed her in close and the wind did the rest. These men and I escaped by the skin of our teeth."" (p. 132) .
If Odysseus had thought before he spoke, he may have saved a few of his men's lives. And even after Odysseus uses his wits to escape, he can't leave without the last word. As he is sailing away with his men, Odysseus cannot resist getting the last word in to the Cyclops. "Cyclops, if anyone, any mortal man, asks you how you got your eye put out, tell him that Odysseus the marauder did it, Son of Laertes, whose home is on Ithaca.
