ipl-logo

The Leadership Of Odysseus In The Odyssey By Homer

765 Words4 Pages

Odysseus in the book The Odyssey by Homer is a bad leader due to the lack of attentiveness he shows towards his teammates in many different ways. For example, Odysseus’s goal was to get him and all of his teammates home but by the time he got home all of his teammates had died. Odysseus also failed to communicate with his teammates many times. As well as the fact that Odysseus was also very easy to convince and that led to a lot of lost time in their journey.
To begin, Odysseus ended up completing his journey but by the time he had gotten home all of his men were dead. In many different situations and places he lost a lot of men at a time. For example, in book eight where his adventure with Scylla and Charbybdis took place he had an opportunity …show more content…

For example, in book 8 when he lost 6 of his men he didn't even think to ask them what they should do. There was always that second choice there but he didn’t give them the option. Although he felt bad after it was still something he should've discussed with them as a leader and someone they had trust in. Another example is in book VI. He's given a bag of winds that he's supposed to use and give back. He ends up leaving the bag unattended with his teammates while he sleeps and because of the fact he never told them what was in the bag they got curious and greedy and opened it thinking it would be something of value to them. This caused all of the winds to be released and they all faced the consequences. After this incident Odysseus states that he feels like giving up and throwing himself in the water. This shows that Odysseus lacks the ability to communicate with his men.
On the other hand, Odysseus does take responsibility for his teammates' actions like a good leader should do. For instance, in book IX when all of his men ate Apollo’s forbidden cattle which is one of the most important things that Odysseus had been warned about, he blamed himself for not keeping watch of them and convincing them to have some patience and wait one more day to be able to have the meal that they had been wanting really badly. This shows that Odysseus knows it was partially his fault and that he could've done

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Odysseus Leadership

    345 Words  | 2 Pages

    Odysseus was not a strong leader and ultimately contributed to the destruction of his own men because he has a weakness of pride and lack of honest communication with his men. Pride is definitely a weakness that affects Odysseus' leadership. An example of Odysseus being overly prideful was when his men and himself were at the Cyclops' land. After Odysseus' plan successfully got him and his men back to the ship, he began to taunt the blinded Cyclops. This consequently leads him to reveal his identity.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Percy Jackson And Odysseus

    583 Words  | 3 Pages

    Odysseus didn’t have enough respect for his crew. Odysseus’ men were taking him across the ocean so that he could get home and weren’t getting compensated for it. Odysseus showed bad leadership when he left his men alone so he could sleep and while he was sleeping they opened a bag of wind and they were blown in the opposite direction of where they were headed. Odysseus showed very little care when six of his men were killed by Scylla, he almost ignored it and just continued his

    Read More

  • How Is Odysseus A Good Leader

    801 Words  | 4 Pages

    He knows emotions won't save their lives. He was the reason they won the Trojan war and he is also who tried to save everyone from going home as failures and would have if they didn't release the wind on the boat. Odysseus was the smartest of all his men and it showed. One of the many reasons he is a good leader is because of the dangers he got them

    Read More

  • Odysseus Leadership Essay

    588 Words  | 3 Pages

    Odysseus, the main character in “The Odyssey,” written by Homer. Odysseus’s character was shown greatly and had many tales of adventure. Odysseus was able to return to his wife at home with the help of the big relationships he made. Leadership, wisdom, and his relationship with athena were some important characteristics Odysseus showed. One of the strong characteristics that Odysseus showed was his leadership.

    Read More

  • Odysseus Is A Good Leader

    367 Words  | 2 Pages

    The question of whether or not Odysseus, the main character in Homer’s The Odyssey, is a good leader is very difficult to answer; however, it seems as though the bad things he did trumped the good things he did, resulting in him being classified as a weak leader. Countless times in this epic, Odysseus is very arrogant and cocky, which puts his men’s lives in danger more times than not. For example, when they entered the cave of Polyphemus the cyclops, the majority of his men wanted to leave so they wouldn’t get eaten. Odysseus, however, decides to test Polyphemus’ hospitality, ultimately resulting in 6 deaths.

    Read More

  • How Is Odysseus A Good Leader

    749 Words  | 3 Pages

    Odysseus is a bad leader since he is a murderer. When Odysseus and his men landed in Ismarus, “[He] stormed that place and killed the men who fought(Homer 28). Because of this, we can see Odysseus kills people for fun, which is a very bad quality. As well, Odysseus is greedy and does things even if they could put him and his men in danger. After successfully escaping, Odysseus taunts the Cyclops, “O Cyclops!

    Read More

  • Odysseus As A Skilled Leader In The Odyssey By Homer

    1299 Words  | 6 Pages

    As Odysseus is retelling his story to King Alcinous in Phaeacia, he showcases his deceit towards his crew. After years of fighting and traveling to get back home, Odysseus encounters Aeolus, King of the Winds. Aeolus agrees to pack up all the winds besides the west wind in order to bring Odysseus and his crew home safely and quickly. However, Odysseus does not tell his men what is inside the bag, so the men’s curiosity gets the best of them. Odysseus explains to Alcinous that “[we] got so close in that we could see the stubble fires burning, and I, being the dead best, fell into a light sleep, for I had never let the rudder out of my own hands, that we might get home faster…thus they talked and evil counsels prevailed.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Odysseus Being A Good Leader

    489 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Odyssey, Odysseus fails to be a great leader because of his selfishness and how he endangers his men. Odysseus is selfish because he doesn't care about anyone else. For example, when Odysseus stays with Circe, he gets to stay in a massive palace while his men sleep outside. Another example is that he is careless

    Read More

  • Odysseus Is A Bad Leader Essay

    508 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Greek Values In Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

    811 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Odysseus As A Leader In Homer's Odyssey

    735 Words  | 3 Pages

    Leadership in The Odyssey Being a leader means to look past all distractions and focus on the main goal. Odysseus must return to his home, Ithaca, with the help of his crew. As they face evil and cruel forces, Odysseus’s strength, leadership, and dedication is tested. Despite Odysseus instructing his crew to return to their ship in order to avoid the Cicones, Odysseus forcefully ties his crew to the ship and reminds the crew about their past encounters to motivate them, supporting Homer’s changes in leadership. Homer continuously portrays Odysseus as being a strong, witty leader although his crew does not always obey him.

    Read More

  • The Destruction Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

    1066 Words  | 5 Pages

    (Book 10, page 159, PDF). Odysseus had left almost always meant to die with only saving a few which may have caused a sense of controversy and confusion. Also Odysseus hadn’t thought of a way to save all of his men, which eventually impacted his journey and his entire crew. Though Odysseus did have several acts of heroic deeds, the amount of failure in a majority of those other acts overpowered them

    Read More

  • Odysseus Leadership In Homer's The Odyssey

    620 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Odysseus Crew In The Odyssey

    1764 Words  | 8 Pages

    At various times throughout the story, mainly through the trials, Odysseus made many decisions and forced his crew to go through many potentially lethal situations without preparing his own crew, or situations that were just a waste of time. This then leads to not only all of his crew being killed but the creation of many bad relationships. The first example of Odysseus mistreating his crew is when he and his crew went through the trails, “No more. Come, / let me tell you about the voyage fraught with hardship / Zeus inflicted on me, homeward bound from Troy...” 9.42-44.

    Read More

  • Odysseus: A Good Leader In Homer's The Odyssey

    571 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus repeatedly shows that he is polytropos, for as Zeus says “There is no mortal half so wise”(3). Using his wits, Odysseus gets him and his men out of several sticky situations in the Odyssey, proving his leadership through his actions that save the lives of his crew member. On the other hand Odysseus’ streak of constantly outsmarting challenges, goes to his head, and unfortunately causes Odysseus to develop a hubris. His pride at times makes him arrogant, believing that he always knows best, which leads to the untimely demise of his crew. While Odysseus proves to be good leader by saving his crew from trouble with his wits, he is ultimately a bad leader because he refuses to listen to advice.

    Read More

More about The Leadership Of Odysseus In The Odyssey By Homer

Open Document