Odysseus The Great Leader Analysis

The Odyssey is a story filled with adventure, bravery, and peril.(H) The Odyssey was written by Homer, a blind poet, in the 8th century, and it was intended to be a sequel to The Iliad, another story written by Homer.(HC) The story is based around the Greek gods, which were commonly believed to exist when Homer wrote The Odyssey.(HC) The Odyssey inspires perseverance in continued hardship and love for family, ideas which are as relevant today as they were when The Odyssey was written.(CM)

Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, however, what gives someone the title of a good or bad is decided by the decisions they make and how those decisions affect others. Odysseus led the squadron of soldiers in the trojan horse and is a hero of the Trojan War and the king of Ithaca. Consequently, this gives him experience when it comes acting in difficult situations. This experience should guide him to choose correctly when being put in a tight spot. However, in the Odyssey, Odysseus makes choices that both his crew and the reader find questionable. Although Odysseus has some positive attributes he is a bad leader for the following reasons he keeps secrets from his crew, he falls asleep at inappropriate times and is arrogant to a fault.

“ I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure spite of overwhelming obstacles” Christopher Reeve. Heroes usually have super powers and are constantly saving people. But it takes much more traits than this to be classified as an epic hero. Some characteristics of an epic hero are supernatural help, leaving on a journey in which proves himself, and they are sometimes honored after death. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus shows many traits of an epic hero. Odysseus faces many obstacle and life threatening situations but he overcome them all. Odysseus is an epic hero because he has supernatural help and he overcomes obstacle throughout his journey by proving himself in order to reach his goal, which is getting home to Ithaca and to take control over his kingdom.

In the epic The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus can be categorized as a bad leader because he is a bystander to preventable deaths of his crew members and exhibits poor authority amongst his group.

In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is an effective leader in chapter twelve. A leader who has too much pride is now showing too much humbleness for what’s important by following all the things he has told to do to save his crew and himself. He does what he is told to do to save his crew and keep them safe. “ But now, fearing death , all eyes fixed on Charybdis now Scylla snatched six men from our hollow ship, the toughest, strongest hands I had, and glancing backwards over the decks, searching or my crew I could see their hands and feet already hoisted, failing, high, higher, over my head, look wailing down at me, comrades riven in agony. Shrieking out my name for one last time” ( XII 265-270). This quote clearly makes us see that Odysseus has

The concept of hero has been interpreted in many ways throughout the ages. Hero have gone from knights slaying dragons and rescuing the princess, to heroes who save the world with their supernatural-like powers, to a modern day hero who is someone who has noble qualities and is regarded as a role model. In the epic, The Odyssey, by Robert Fagles, the heroic Odysseus is a well known in Greek mythology. However, although Odysseus is the most respected, honorable hero of Greek mythology he is not a modern hero. A modern day hero is someone who puts their life on the line to save the lives of other innocent people. In The Odyssey, Odysseus’ characteristics do not fit in the definition of a modern hero, he illustrates a naive and a arrogant epic hero.

Lastly, Odysseus illustrates good leadership through his use of determination. In the Circe episode, Circe persuades Odysseus and his men to stay with her. Homer explains how the

Odysseus shows leadership by taking charge and bringing his men back to the ship. He uses intelligence to know that he should not tell his men about Scylla and Charybdis. Lastly, Odysseus reveals bravery when he goes into the Underworld. As Napoleon I once said, “True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life, in whatever shape they may challenge us to combat.” This quote means that to be true hero one must be able to stand tall and fight through any obstacle they are faced

Odysseus is not a hero because he stabs Polyphemus in the eye and blinds him. Odysseus is still a hero because he is a leader. Moreover, after Odysseus and his men fight the Cicones, he orders ¨Back and Quickly! Out to sea again!” (Homer 984). When Odysseus commands his men to go back to sea to voyage, he is a good leader because he is telling his men what to do. He is being a leader by protecting his men from the Ciccone 's army by leaving before reinforcements come. For example, when Odysseus and his men are heading to the sirens Odysseus states “you are to tie me up, tight as a splint” (Homer 1005). Odysseus is an admirable leader when he orders his men to tie him up and do not untie him because he is sacrificing himself for the good of his men. He is a leader when he does this because he lets his men not suffer the sirens while he has to. Odysseus being a leader makes him a hero because he makes bold decisions and he protects himself and his

A powerful leader shows the strength of a lion and the wisdom of an owl. One gets their men out of any predicament they may find themselves in while staying mostly intact. It’s difficult, but the main character Odysseus often makes the correct and moral decision. Intelligence is greatly valued in the world of ancient Greece and Odysseus is fortuitous enough to have it. In The Odyssey, intelligence is seen as an important trait to the Greeks because quick thinking and careful decisions shows a great likelihood of becoming a strong leader.

A great leader views the world like he is looking through 3D glasses, always seeing the depth and vibrancy of the possibilities around him. A bad leader is like a cyclops wearing an eyepatch, never able to see his mighty hand in front of his own face. In The Odyssey, Homer illustrates the journey home to Ithaca taken by Odysseus and his men. Unfortunately, Odysseus makes poor choices throughout his travels and his actions often do more harm than good. Two character traits define Odysseus and shape his poor leadership style. The first trait is that he is a very arrogant person and this often puts him and his men in danger. Secondly, Odysseus can be deceitful and not fully communicate the facts of each situation. Odysseus was a weak leader and his lack of vision in not seeing the strength and possibilities in his men combined with his inability to effectively communicate to those around him ultimately led to his failure of not being able to safely deliver his men back to Ithaca.

Ultimately Odysseus can be a good leader but behind the scenes, he's not. He may of saved his men multiple times, but also got them killed them due to his neglect. He might be intelligent but really he tolerably manipulated his crew by saying things such as “don’t you want to go back to your home again?”. In closing, throughout the whole story, Odysseus progresses himself and designates many Greek

While Odysseus is a little arrogant, he can also be a great leader because he is able to trust his second in command, Eurylochus, and give him more power while he is away. When Odysseus is away from Circe’s island, Odysseus has a change of heart and suddenly wants to go back to Circe’s island to retrieve his crew. Despite this sudden change of heart, he is still wise enough to plan out what he is going to do when he gets to Circe’s Island and how to keep his crew safe

However, examples within the literary narrative of the Odyssey leaves the discussion open with regards to his leadership. Thus, the question of leadership supersedes the topic of Arete. Was Odysseus the ideal leader or did he portray undesirable leadership tendencies? The examples that will presented will illustrate that Odysseus hubris, risk taking prowess, and at times unwillingness to follow instructions often placed his crew in danger as he journeyed Ithaca. Yes, the terribly challenging circumstances in narrative in which the Odysseus finds himself is a challenge of courage and heroism of which very few would willingly volunteer. His ability to remain courageous in the face of brute beast, the actions of gods and demi-goddesses, and in almost impossible natural and supernatural circumstances certainly admirable. However, it is evident that there are circumstances where his hubris leads him to trust his intellect and wit over more reasonable course of action that not only endanger his life, but the life of his entire

“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” (Bob Dylan). A modern hero is recognized by the goodness in their heart. Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s “The Odyssey”, is not a good example of a modern hero. Heroes cannot be cross cultural, and Odysseus’ heroics do not transcend time and apply to the modern world. A good example of a modern hero would be the First Lady, Michelle Obama. With Michelle’s humanitarian work and benevolent attitude, she helps those in need while trying to better society.