Odysseus’s Leadership Essay According to the epic The Odyssey by Homer, losing his entire crew on his journey back to Ithaca does not preclude Odysseus from being considered a good leader due to the circumstances in which he was helpless to prevent the loss of his crew and his aptitude for wisdom. To begin with, Odysseus is a good leader despite the fact that he lost his entire crew because he was rendered completely powerless such a catastrophe. Examples of this include the crew’s stay on Helio’s Island, where Odysseus warns his men not to feast upon the sacred cattle of the sun god, regardless of the men having little source of nourishment or food. Odysseus attempts to remedy the situation by petitioning to the gods in the following statement:
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While Odysseus and his crew members are stuck in the cyclops, Polyphemus’s, cave, Odysseus devises a plan in which he manages to secure the release of him and his crewmates from the cyclops cave. “...I was filled with laughter to see how like a charm the name deceived him” (ln. 347-348). Odysseus’s ingenious is showcased in the above scenario as deciding to tell Polyphemus his name was Nohbody, thus lulling the cyclopes and into a pretense of security and safety. The advantage of the name Nohbody is that when Odysseus harmed Polyphemus, Polyphemus screamed that “Nohbody” was hurting him. Such examples of wisdom proves that Odysseus is a good leader has he has the ability to be prudent, a trait that is vital to being a leader. Henceforth, Odysseus’s wisdom that is portrayed in the above scenario proves that Odysseus is a good leader. Another peril on his journey occurs when Odysseus faces the difficult choice of choosing to sail towards Scylla’s deathly appetite or Charybdis the whirlpool. He decides to sail towards Scylla, stating how “[s]he ate them as they shrieked in her den in the dire grapple, reaching still for me, and deathly pity ran through me….We rowed on” (ln 659-663). Odysseus's decision to sail towards Scylla saved the lives of his remaining men, as he only lost six men to Scylla, despite this resulting in emotions of horror and pity
While Odysseus and his crew members are stuck in the cyclops, Polyphemus’s, cave, Odysseus devises a plan in which he manages to secure the release of him and his crewmates from the cyclops cave. “...I was filled with laughter to see how like a charm the name deceived him” (ln. 347-348). Odysseus’s ingenious is showcased in the above scenario as deciding to tell Polyphemus his name was Nohbody, thus lulling the cyclopes and into a pretense of security and safety. The advantage of the name Nohbody is that when Odysseus harmed Polyphemus, Polyphemus screamed that “Nohbody” was hurting him. Such examples of wisdom proves that Odysseus is a good leader has he has the ability to be prudent, a trait that is vital to being a leader. Henceforth, Odysseus’s wisdom that is portrayed in the above scenario proves that Odysseus is a good leader. Another peril on his journey occurs when Odysseus faces the difficult choice of choosing to sail towards Scylla’s deathly appetite or Charybdis the whirlpool. He decides to sail towards Scylla, stating how “[s]he ate them as they shrieked in her den in the dire grapple, reaching still for me, and deathly pity ran through me….We rowed on” (ln 659-663). Odysseus's decision to sail towards Scylla saved the lives of his remaining men, as he only lost six men to Scylla, despite this resulting in emotions of horror and pity