A wanderer’s journey Have you ever been in a position of leadership in which others were relying on you? Have you thought about your destiny, or imagined life without your family? A famous epic poem by Homer, called the Odyssey, uses the hero’s archetypal journey to demonstrate the three themes of leaders, destiny, and family--three important themes that are still relevant to our lives today. It is important to know what makes a good leader because without one, we are destined to fail. It is also important to know how much control you have over your destiny; however, overthinking this can lead to failure. Failure can also be brought up by separation from family; their importance in our hearts stays with us over infinite distances, but separation
…show more content…
For one, good leaders are brave. Odysseus, the epic hero in the Odyssey, led his crew fearlessly through terrible monsters and beguiling goddesses. In our modern day lives, there are leaders in the military fighting for our country’s safety who have to be brave in order to lead an army out into battle, even knowing that they could all die. Another characteristic of a leader is being shrewd and logical. During his journey, Odysseus and his crew were being held captive by a Cyclops named Polyphemus. Upon being asked his name, the cunning Odysseus said his name was Nohbdy, which fooled the Cyclops into believing that “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked [him], Nohbdy’s ruined [him]” (9.317). Many leadership positions today require one to be strategic like Odysseus. For example, a president needs to be strategic in order to prevent national disasters. A president who fails to do so could jeopardize the safety of the nation and all its inhabitants. One must maintain mutual relationships with other nations as to prevent wars. In addition, sports coaches examine the current playing situation in any game, analyze it, decide the best option to achieve victory, and spread the message successfully to the rest of the team. Another characteristic of a good leader is creativity. After Odysseus and his men had successfully blinded Polyphemus, Odysseus devised a creative scheme that allowed he and his crew to escape safely. By riding underneath sheep, they arrived outside of the cave. In modern society, teachers and principals or other school leaders have to be creative in order to make society’s youth excited to learn. With several positive qualities, even the best leaders have flaws. One such flaw is hubris. After escaping the blinded Cyclops, Odysseus, overcome with hubris, revealed that his name was Odysseus, not Nohbdy. Because of this, Odysseus was cursed by the god of the sea, Poseidon, who
For one, good leaders are brave. Odysseus, the epic hero in the Odyssey, led his crew fearlessly through terrible monsters and beguiling goddesses. In our modern day lives, there are leaders in the military fighting for our country’s safety who have to be brave in order to lead an army out into battle, even knowing that they could all die. Another characteristic of a leader is being shrewd and logical. During his journey, Odysseus and his crew were being held captive by a Cyclops named Polyphemus. Upon being asked his name, the cunning Odysseus said his name was Nohbdy, which fooled the Cyclops into believing that “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked [him], Nohbdy’s ruined [him]” (9.317). Many leadership positions today require one to be strategic like Odysseus. For example, a president needs to be strategic in order to prevent national disasters. A president who fails to do so could jeopardize the safety of the nation and all its inhabitants. One must maintain mutual relationships with other nations as to prevent wars. In addition, sports coaches examine the current playing situation in any game, analyze it, decide the best option to achieve victory, and spread the message successfully to the rest of the team. Another characteristic of a good leader is creativity. After Odysseus and his men had successfully blinded Polyphemus, Odysseus devised a creative scheme that allowed he and his crew to escape safely. By riding underneath sheep, they arrived outside of the cave. In modern society, teachers and principals or other school leaders have to be creative in order to make society’s youth excited to learn. With several positive qualities, even the best leaders have flaws. One such flaw is hubris. After escaping the blinded Cyclops, Odysseus, overcome with hubris, revealed that his name was Odysseus, not Nohbdy. Because of this, Odysseus was cursed by the god of the sea, Poseidon, who