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…
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,…
Aeneas' Leadership in the Aeneid. In the Aeneid by Virgil the main character Aeneas tries to be a good leader to his people, but fails; showing the lack of good leadership qualities in the majority of the book. A good leader is a person who supports people he/she is in charge of, sets a good example following rules of pietas, and helps in accomplishing a common goal.…
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 Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus is finally released from Calypso after seven years. Odysseus proceeded to lead his men on his way back home to be reunited with his wife, Penelope. Today, Homer is globally seen as a great leader for his men, but his clear demonstration of pride, daringness, and his pettiness made him a horrible leader. One of the biggest weaknesses for leaders is having too much pride, and Odysseus has more than enough of that, as shown in the Cyclops. Odysseus’ crew was caught by a Cyclops, but when he got away he decided to insult the Cyclops (The Cyclops. 476).…
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.…
In The Odyssey, Homer writes of Odysseus, a good leader. Odysseus does make mistakes, for example when he leaves Ismarus he says, “I sacked the city, killed the men” and then he takes the riches and wives as plunder (9. 46-47). In this situation Odysseus acts similar to a pirate and goes against the Greek value of order. Also, when Eurylochus and the crew asks to land on the island of the Sun God’s cattle Odysseus says, “I’m one against all, the upper hand is yours” even though this island is where Odysseus was told he will have their greatest disaster (12. 322-323). Odysseus giving in leads to the death of his entire crew and ship.…
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…
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.…
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.…
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…
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.…
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).…
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.…