Lost, stranded in the ocean’s blue waters, only a great leader can guide his men back home. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus and his men go on a treacherous voyage away from their home of Ithaca. Along this journey they face a multitude of challenges. Some of these include an enormous cyclopes, the beautiful and calm island of Circe, and their overall hardships with the gods and their power. Odysseus is an excellent leader because of his intelligence and care for his men. First and foremost, one of the most important signs of leadership is intelligence. This can be seen in book nine when Odysseus and his men are trapped in the Cyclopes’ cave and the Cyclopes promises to give Odysseus a guest-gift if he would tell him his name. Odysseus,
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If you, you really want me to eat and drink,
Set them free, all my beloved comrades-
Let me feast my eyes. (X. 422-428)
This shows that before anything, he is plotting out ways to save his men. His quick-witted mind allows him to think of the best scenarios to put himself and his men in. Because of this, he often times saves him and his men from certain death, a characteristic only few great leaders posses.
Not only is his intelligence one of the key reasons he is a great leader, but also the care he shows towards his men. Found in book ten, while Odysseus is asleep, he and his men have just arrived on Aeae, the island of Circe. They are all tired and soreness had spread throughout all of their bodies. However, Odysseus rallies them all up and prepares a speech of motivation. Odysseus announced,
`Listen to me, my comrades, brothers in hardship, we can't tell east from west, the dawn from the dusk, nor where the sun that lights our lives goes under earth nor where it rises. We must think of a plan at once , some cunning stroke. I doubt there's one still …show more content…
In book nine, Odysseus and his men are sailing safely away from the Cyclopes’s island, Odysseus taunts the Cyclops in a cocky manner and tells him his actual name. Not only did this basically tell the Cyclopes where Odysseus and his ship is, but also could have easily gotten all of his men killed. This can be seen in book nine, Odysseus boasted “Cyclops’/ if any man on the face of the earth should ask you/ who blinded you, shamed you so-say Odysseus,/ raider of cities, he gouged out your eye,/ Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca” (IX. 558-562). Although this can be seen as poor and cocky, the real reason for this behavior was to show that Odysseus is a great leader and likes to express that quality after he’s been through a hard occasion. It could be argued that this risks the life of his men, however, he could not have put his men in any more danger than they already
If you, you really want me to eat and drink,
Set them free, all my beloved comrades-
Let me feast my eyes. (X. 422-428)
This shows that before anything, he is plotting out ways to save his men. His quick-witted mind allows him to think of the best scenarios to put himself and his men in. Because of this, he often times saves him and his men from certain death, a characteristic only few great leaders posses.
Not only is his intelligence one of the key reasons he is a great leader, but also the care he shows towards his men. Found in book ten, while Odysseus is asleep, he and his men have just arrived on Aeae, the island of Circe. They are all tired and soreness had spread throughout all of their bodies. However, Odysseus rallies them all up and prepares a speech of motivation. Odysseus announced,
`Listen to me, my comrades, brothers in hardship, we can't tell east from west, the dawn from the dusk, nor where the sun that lights our lives goes under earth nor where it rises. We must think of a plan at once , some cunning stroke. I doubt there's one still …show more content…
In book nine, Odysseus and his men are sailing safely away from the Cyclopes’s island, Odysseus taunts the Cyclops in a cocky manner and tells him his actual name. Not only did this basically tell the Cyclopes where Odysseus and his ship is, but also could have easily gotten all of his men killed. This can be seen in book nine, Odysseus boasted “Cyclops’/ if any man on the face of the earth should ask you/ who blinded you, shamed you so-say Odysseus,/ raider of cities, he gouged out your eye,/ Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca” (IX. 558-562). Although this can be seen as poor and cocky, the real reason for this behavior was to show that Odysseus is a great leader and likes to express that quality after he’s been through a hard occasion. It could be argued that this risks the life of his men, however, he could not have put his men in any more danger than they already