There are many leaders throughout the world that are in charge of different things like small organizations and even countries. Some are fantastic leaders, and then others are substandard. Today's leaders and the future’s must learn from previous leaders’ mistakes to make their rule even better. There are many qualities a leader must posses to be an excellent and respected ruler. In Oedipus the King and Antigone, Oedipus and Creon, who are both kings from the play, rule with distinct leadership traits. Some are effective and some are not, but unfortunately, they both have an ineffective trait that leads to their downfall. Based on Henry S. Givray's, 12 Distinguishing Qualities that Define True Leaders, Oedipus and Creon are both determined and loyal, but differ when it comes to serving others and self awareness. A good leader should be determined to solve problems as soon as they are found. Henry S. Givray says, “If they don't solve problems right away, they can become cancerous” (Givray). In Oedipus the King, Oedipus says, “I’ll find the hand that brought Death to Labdakos’ and Polydoros’ child…” (Sophocles, "Oedipus" 73). The city is in anguish from the plague. During this time period, people believe that a famine or a plague means that they displeased the gods. Oedipus is first determined to find out what they did wrong, and then determined to …show more content…
Oedipus and Creon are both determined and loyal. Being determined does not help either of them, but being loyal does. A difference between them is that Oedipus serves the people, whereas Creon does everything by himself. Serving others helps Oedipus gain trust from his people. Creon’s trait that Oedipus does not have is self awareness. However, this does not help him because he ends up losing everyone he holds close to his heart. Although, Oedipus and Creon have similar and different leadership traits, they both end in
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show More“They say that Creon has sworn, no one shall bury him, no one mourn him.” (Prologue- Scene 2). Creon is using his power as king to get what he wants even if it is wrong. Creon favored Eteocles over Oedipus, because he buried Eteocles with military honors. Creon was not fair, when he would only bury one brother, although both brothers fought for the throne.
When Creon is first introduced, he does not hold any major responsibilities. He is considerate, rational, and respectful toward Oedipus. When Oedipus first starts to search for Laius’s killer, Creon personally recommends that he seek out Tiresias, which,
The Odyssey Argumentative Essay To be a good leader, you must have a good personality, With the correct intentions. A leader is someone who encourages his peers to do better. A leader also should guide his peers, and keeping them safe, and give credit when due. However, Odysseus put his men in lots of danger and led them in the wrong direction numerous times.
“Not so self-centered that you never listen to other people” (Hugh Hefner). In the story of Antigone, Creon shows the characteristics of a tragic hero, as he is the king he shows his self-confident and he does not recognize his flaws until the end of the story. All of this leads into his downfall in the tragedy and causes him to realized what he had done. Creon is a tragic hero because of his self-righteousness, his excessive pride, and he does not listen to the opinion of others.
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.
Webster Dictionary defines leadership as simply, “providing direction or guidance,” but to be a successful leader one must focus on completing a goal in a way that is beneficial for the majority, not only the one in charge. This can be achieved by utilitarianism, which is doing of what is best for the most number of people, and carrying out actions that lead to positive effects, instead of merely being done with good intentions. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is not an exemplary leader because he went against utilitarianism by not being honest with his men, letting his arrogance control his behavior, and by killing many people in his house without a fair trial. Firstly, a leader must be truthful with those he works with in order for no errors or confusion to occur as a result of information being hidden. In The Odyssey, not being truthful lead to negative consequences for everyone on Odysseus’ ship, and thus contradicted the principle of utilitarianism stating that actions must lead to positive effects.
Oedipus tells Creon that “[he] has to be the father” which means he has to take care of them and protect them with his life (pg. 249 ll. 1645 - 1646). Oedipus even tells Creon that “[He is his] only hope” and for him to “Promise [him], noble Creon” (pg. 249 ll.
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
Throughout the story “The Odyssey” by Homer Odysseus, the main character counters countless amounts of trouble. As king and leader it is his job to keep his men save and get the job done. Odysseus does whatever it takes to keep his men unharmed, and more importantly, alive. All his crew and him dream about is getting back to their homeland, but first they have to pass the obstacles. Odysseus demonstrates good leadership qualities by doing whatever it takes to get the job done, using his advanced cunning abilities to trick his enemy, and constantly saving his crew from dangers.
Dwight Eisenhower once said, "The supreme quality of leadership is integrity." Odysseus displayed a lack of integrity and poor leadership by not fully communicating all the facts of the situation
Once in a while leaders can get occupied, even the considerable ones, however they must understand that they committed an error and must endure the outcomes. Various leaders lead for the recognition. Odysseus from The Odyssey and Everett from O Brother Where Art Thou were both astonishing leaders and their men admired them. In spite of their likenesses there are a few things that set them apart. Despite the fact that Everett and Odysseus are similar, Everett has better initiative abilities, which at last causes him and his group get to where they have to go.
As demonstrated throughout the Greek tragedy Antigone, Creon’s tragic flaw is hubris which causes his downfall . The downfall begins when Creon refuses to give Polyneices, the son of Oedipus and the brother of Antigone, a burial. Creon believes that Polyneices did not die an honorable death as he broke exile and raised the sword against his home city, Thebes, so in return he will not receive a burial. Creon’s pride takes over and so he believes he is a man not only superior to women , but a king superior to the gods. He claims, Go out of your heads entirely?
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.
The play, Antigone written by Sophocles, presents a tragedy that fits the classical definition, but it is the story of Creon, the king of the main character. Creon starts out as the king of Thebes , Creon’s tragic flaw is his pride and his arrogance which caused him reflecting upon his mistakes making him a broken man, recognizing what he did to his niece, he is a character within Antigone, even though he was portrayed as an antagonist he was the main character since he was. Creon’s tragic flaw, hubris, causes his downfall. Creon will not listen to anyone.
Once humbled when Oedipus was king, Creon became the king and hubris became his fatal flaw. Throughout Creon’s reign, he constantly ignored others and put himself first. Creon shows an example of Hubris when he doesn’t listen to Antigone’s argument by saying, “Go join them, then; if you must have your love, Find it in hell!” (211). This came after Antigone pleaded that all bodies deserve to be honored and buried.