Frederick II In The Odyssey

Frederick II, the 3rd king of Prussia, is among one of the few dominant people in modern Germany's history. Under his rule, Frederick made Prussia one of the great states of Europe. He quickly became known as a good military leader and the Prussian army became a model that was copied by others. He also became a leader for the idea of enlightened government. His example of insisting the state over personal interest and religious toleration spread this idea and effected the main currents of the age. Odysseus, an epic hero, spent ten years away from home fighting in the Trojan War. On his way back home to his palace in Ithaca he and his men faced many obstacles. Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, tells Odysseus’ stories of his many encounters with …show more content…
He took initiative on many things but specifically when he was building up his army. The uppermost objective of Frederick's rule was to increase the power of the state and to do this he put most of his effort into building a great army and gaining the financial resources to maintain it. When Frederick II inherited the army in 1740, it was a standing army of 83,000 men. By the time he died the number of men rose to 190,000. On Britannica.com it says, “In proportion to the resources available to support it, its size was unequaled anywhere in Europe.” (Anderson). This shows how Frederick took initiative because as soon as he came to power the first thing he started working on was increasing the power of the army. In doing so he not only more than doubled the size of the army, he made it so massive that its size was greater than any other countries in Europe. Taking initiative made Frederick II an effective leader because he did not have to be told to do anything, if he wanted to do something then he did. This quality of taking initiative was important to Frederick’s culture because back then if a leader waited around to be told what to do instead of taking charge and doing what they thought was best, their country would be weak and they would get destroyed. Odysseus also took initiative when making his deal with Circe of Aeaea, a goddess and enchantress. When Circe wanted him to have an affair …show more content…
Frederick II was powerful when he fought in the Seven Years War. The war started in 1756 when Frederick invaded Saxony with Great Britain after Austria, alongside France and Russia, tried to regain control of Silesia. The war was a rocky battle but Frederick got through it. He lost territory, regained it, and then lost it again. In 1760 when Austro-russian forces took over Berlin, it drove Frederick to a state of depression and he even considered suicide. But when Empress Elizabeth of Russia died, she was replaced by Peter III and Russia backed out of the war. Biographers have said, “Although Frederick did not gain territory, the ensuing treaty allowed him to retain Silesia and made him popular throughout the many German-speaking territories. Prussia became one of the preeminent powers in Europe." (Biography.com Editors). This shows Frederick was powerful because he was fighting in a war so stressful it drove him to consider suicide but he got through it and came out on top. He became a popular military leader and his country became one of the leading powers in Europe. Frederick’s powerfulness makes him an effective leader because he was able to fight in wars and win, making Prussia better and more powerful. Being a powerful military leader was important in Frederick II’s culture because in that time era having a powerful army meant that you can fight to get more territories and