In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus demonstrates bravery as a trait of exceptional leadership when he fearlessly rescues his crewman from Circe’s potion. Despite seeing the “blinding tears” and “dry lips” of one of his crewmen, Eurylokhos, after returning for Circe’s hall, Odysseus decides to visit anyway and rescue his crewman from the unknown. When Eurylokhos arrives in a frantic state near the ship where Odysseus awaits the return of his men; Odysseus remains calm after he discovers his men are in danger, he “ [sees] nothing for it but to go” and rushes to the rescue (Homer 173, line 300-301). He “ [takes] the inland path alone” to arrive at Circe’s hall in the most effective amount of time where his men are held captive by…
For instance, Odysseus’ men ate Helios’ cattle while he was in “ sleep” resulting in their deaths (Homer 625 l. 699). If Odysseus did not leave his crew with a cattle in the times of their craving for food, he could have in some way, prevent the dreadful event. Therefore, it can be stated that Odysseus neglected his duty. However, this piece of indication can not argue for Odysseus lack of leadership, for it was his men disobedience and impulsiveness that cause the tragedy. Considering the fact that they “ swear not to touch the god’s cattle” to Odysseus when they first arrive on the island( Homer 624 Summary).…
In the Odyssey, Odysseus shows good leadership throughout his twenty year journey back to Ithaca. There is evidence and details to support why Odysseus shows good leadership in the Odyssey. To prove that Odysseus is a good leader, he shows intelligence which is part of what the Greeks valued. Odysseus is strong willed and he puts his life at risk when trying to save his men from all the dangers throughout the journey. Odysseus uses the Trojan Horse Trick to win the Trojan War and he tricks Polyphemus into thinking that his name was “nohbdy” which is evidence from the Odyssey that shows that Odysseus is intelligent.…
In The Odyssey by Homer, Odyssey and I both share the same trait of leadership. Through Odysseus’s adventures he accepted many obstacles and one of them was the horrible/ addicting lotus eaters. He was a leader through this time because he had stated to all of his men this: “All hands aboard; come, clear the beach and no one eat the Lotus, or you will lose your hope of home” (898). In this example, he is protecting his men from the Lotus Eaters. He makes sure they don’t eat them because he wants them to make it home safely.…
Odysseus made showed good leadership when he chose to go and fight the Greeks. Even though Odysseus just had his first child Telemachus and Odysseus put his personal desire of staying home with his newborn. Odysseus gave himself to the welfare of his country and chose to protect his country from Greeks. While having trouble getting inside of Troy’s kingdom. Odysseus was very smart and he created a giant horse as a gift for Troy and Odysseus hid his whole army inside.…
An epic created by the Grecian bard Homer, The Odyssey, tells the tale of the hero Odysseus who sails the treacherous sea in order to find his home and see his wife and son. During his two decades out on the sea, Odysseus and his allies who travel with him face many hardships. Some are temporarily turned into pigs, others eaten by sea monsters, and all but Odysseus face Helios’ wrath after eating the Sun God’s cows. Odysseus, by sacrificing his men for the sake of self-preservation rather than putting his men first and protecting them to the best of his ability, shows astronomically terrible leadership skills. When him and his men land on the island of Circe, Odysseus sends his men to scout around, all but one of these men are turned…
Leadership is an important quality in life that it used everyday to overcome small and large goals that we face. In The Odyssey by Homer and translated by Robert Fitzgerald Odysseus is a clever, hero figure trying to get back home after ten long years of war. At the beginning of his long journey home he lacks proper skills of a leader. Through his experiences he learns and adapt to them to and work on them which result with him getting closer to his goal, getting home. We must learn to be a proper leader so that we can achieve our goals and desires.…
Authority is vital in any kind of writing, but especially so in literary fiction. As the writer is creating a world that is essentially made from thin air, the reader must feel safe and certain that the world he/ she is entering into is real and genuine. The reader must be able to trust the writer in order to engage with the work. All things considered, the author absolutely must work hard in order to gain the reader’s trust so he would become authoritative.…
The Odyssey is a novel of internal conflict and external conflict of responsibility. From the responsibility of the cyclops to the responsibility of his men, they are all struggling with responsibility. Homer's Epic poem The Odyssey portrays that all people struggle with responsibility through Odysseus’s men, the cyclops, and the main character, Odysseus himself.…
One of the themes seen in this section is the changing of leaders. This is seen constantly throughout The Histories, whether the changes are accurate or not. In this section, Herodotus writes that Darius died before he had the “chance to punish either Egypt or the Athenians” and was succeeded by his son, Xerxes (414). Another theme that is seen in this section is repetition of history. Not only does Xerxes decide to continue with his father’s attack on Athens, but he also has an interaction with one of the men in his army that is very similar to one that his father had.…
In Homer’s Iliad, Greek leadership and government was portrayed as a hierarchical structure that ranked from ordinary humans (at the bottom) to the mythical Olympian Gods (at the top). In between these two extremes, many varieties of leadership positions were presented. For example, the central monarch or king would be viewed as a sort of intermediary or messenger between gods and men. In this essay, I will begin by explaining some of the forms of leadership presented in Homer’s…
A main character, even a king, or leader has to make all of the decisions and at times, does not make the right decision. However, they can signify power and show great traits of leadership just like Ralph from Lord of the Flies, Oedipus from Oedipus the King, and Othello. Ralph wants to signify that he represents the boys and he wants to be the leader, however the darker boys such as Roger and Jack have other plans and want to start a new civilization with mass chaos. Ralph tries to stand up for himself and make the right choice, but it ends up with Ralph, SamnEric, and Piggy from that group. “[Jack] is going off by himself” and that ends the whole tranquil and peace (Golding 127).…
In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus demonstrates bravery as a trait of exceptional leadership when he fearlessly rescues his crew from permanently being transformed by Circe’s magical potion. After Eurylokhos, one of Odysseus’s crewmen, leads a search group onto the island of Circe, he returns from Circe’s hall so horrified he is unable to speak, with “blinding tears” pooling in his eyes (Homer 172, 272). By questioning Eurylokhos about the events that took place at Circe’s house, Odysseus learns his men are in some sort of danger, and therefore is determined to retrieve them at once. Odysseus commands Eurylokhos to lead him back to the house from which he came, but Eurylokhos begs Odysseus to let him stay behind, and Odysseus,…
Poor leadership is devastating in The Iliad. Homer recognizes this, making a particular effort to demonstrate what traits constitute effective leadership. It is crucial, therefore, to determine exactly how Homer presents this idea in order to gain a coherent understanding of his beliefs. With Homer’s convictions in mind, the individual gifts of these war leaders shine rather brightly. One can then begin to analyze them, deciding for oneself who fits Homer’s ideas the best.…
During the Greek and Trojan War depicted in the Iliad the reader leans of the qualities of the many leaders. The Greeks lead by Agamemnon and the Trojans lead by Hector have been at war for nine years previous to the Iliad. There are many leaders in the Iliad that are great and there are some that are terrible. Great leaders are ones that have courage, the respect of their men and enemies, and are inspirational. Terrible leaders are cowardly and selfish when faced with great challenges.…