Essay On Odysseus As A Weak Leader

Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus has shown various qualities of a weak leader. For one, Odysseus taunts Polyphemus unnecessarily. This leads him and his men being “cursed” to never return home or to kill all of Odysseus’s men. This shows Odysseus is a bad leader because he is excessively prideful and egotistical. He often lets those traits make decisions for him, and this causes poor fortune for him and his men. Another example of Odysseus being a bad leader is when he accepts the fate of his men instead of trying to find a loophole that would save them. Along with his crew’s fate, his decision to listen to the sirens was also a foolish decision. There could have been a lot of time saved if his men were not preoccupied with keeping Odysseus

When Odysseus is in the cyclops cave and he needs four men to help him blind Polyphemus he leaves it up to chance, instead of just picking the best men from his crew. “As luck would have it, the men I would have chosen won the toss four strong men, and I made five as captain.”(749) Odysseus should have just chosen the best men for the job because what would have happened if he had gotten the weakest men. This shows he has a shortage of control over his men. Odysseus then loses control over his men again, and this time, it results in their deaths. When Odysseus and his men arrive on Helios’ island, the only thing to eat there are the sacred cows of Helios. Odysseus warns his men that if they eat the cows Helios will strike them down. His men ignore his warnings and instead decide that they would rather die by a god's wrath than by starvation. Eurilochus, one of Odysseus’s men speaks up and says, “But if he [Helios] flares up over his heifers lost, wishing our ship destroyed, and if the gods make cause with him, why, then I say...”(430) Eurilochus goes on to convince the rest of the crew that they should eat the sacred cows. While all of this is happening Odysseus is somewhere else on the island asleep. Odysseus should have been with his men observing them to make sure they didn’t defy his orders. Again, this shows the little control Odysseus has over his

Throughout the epic The Odyssey, Homer narrates the trying journey of Odysseus and his men as they try to go back to Ithaca after the Trojan War has ended. Through the narrative the reader sees many examples of Odysseus’s true nature as leader, and, like any mortal man, he has his strengths and weaknesses. Although Odysseus occasionally shows signs of poor leadership, such as arrogance and the tendency to miscommunication, he also exhibits redeeming qualities like confidence and dedication.

Opponents say that Odysseus uses his accomplishments to gain fame and glory. However, Odysseus would have never thought of that due to the dangerous situations he faces that may cost his life. For example, as Odysseus and his crew were continuing on their journey, they encountered the Sirens who had “lovely voices in ardor appealing over the water made me crave to listen, and I tried to say ‘Untie me!’ to the crew, jerking my brows; but they bent steady to the oars” (1134). Homer portrays the epic hero, Odysseus, as the element, victorious from a dangerous situation because the Sirens were powerful enough to bewitch any men with their voices. Nonetheless, Odysseus followed the advice given from Circe and secured himself by wrapping his arms around the pole of the boat and covering the ears of his crew members. Odysseus knew how dangerous this could’ve been, but still decided to risk his and crew member’s lives and sail through it. Another reason would be Odysseus’s raging pride that can make others in danger. While this is not entirely inaccurate, he does have an understanding of the responsibilities it takes to be a leader. For instance, in order to persuade Zeus to help Odysseus, Athena defends how “he fought only to save his life, to bring his shipmates home” (1104). Leadership is displayed in a way when the author references how Odysseus was a brave and unselfish epic hero by putting his shipmates before him. This could suggest that he cares deeply for his shipmates and feels responsible if something were to happen to them on his behalf. Critics may have wondered if Odysseus is truly an epic hero due to his true intentions and how his pride can put others danger, but his willingness to overcome these tough obstacles and face these kinds of situations is only something Odysseus can

Odysseus was an effective leader for many reasons. One example was in the story of the siren’s was when he was caring. When he was on the boat he was a good leader because he was leader his crew and he tied himself up to a pole and put beeswax in there. Another way Odysseus was effective was in The Lotus Eater’s story. He was supportive because he tied his crew up to the the boat so the would stop eating the plants because the would lose all hope of going home. A third example would be in the story of the Cyclops. Odysseus was cooperative with his crew because they tricked the cyclops to drink wine then they sharpened a huge spear and poked it into his eye so he couldn't see them when they escaped. In the end, Odysseys was an effective leader

The Adventures of Odysseus is about a leader that goes to battle for 20 year. But for those 20 years he faced many difficult obstacles. And proved that he’s a good leader while on this 20 year quest. This leaders name is Odysseus. He is forced to go on this terribly long journey by a god named Poseidon. He angered Poseidon by blinding his son Polyphemus. According to the story it states that he stabbed him in the eye because it states ”lugging it near the cyclops as more than natural force nerved them; straight forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it in deep in his crater eye” (ON PAGE #11). But this is just the beginning. And how he shows he’s a good leader.

Odysseus, however, was very different from Gilgamesh in terms of his ruling style. While Gilgamesh had exercised harsh and unjustified rule, Odysseus had difficulties controlling and disciplining his crewmen. Throughout Odysseus’ journey home, on the boat given to him by the Phaeacian King Alcinous, there were many instances where the crewmen did not follow his leadership, made their own decisions, and even talked back to him. For example, whilst Odysseus and his crewmen approached the island of the Sun god Helios, he reminded them of Circe’s dangerous prophecy regarding the temptations of Helios’ island. Thus, he ordered his men to sail forward (Homer, Od. 12.294-299); however, one seaman, Eurylochus, pleaded him to let them stop for the night and rest; the rest of the crewmen agreed with Eurylochus cheerfully, to which Odysseus gave in and allowed them to rest one night, if only they all promised not to harm Helios’ cattle. (Homer, Od. 12.328-329) Under better authority, the crewmen would not have pleaded to their leader, nor would their leader have given in so easily; however, Odysseus was easily manipulated and lacked the necessary authoritative skill. Unfortunately, this was neither his only nor greatest flaw. Actually, Odysseus’ greatest known flaw is what is known as hubris, and it is often described as a sense of excessive pride or defiance of the gods. Odysseus’ greatest show of hubris occurred on the

One of the most difficult aspects of leadership is making complicated decisions that literally mean life or death. Odysseus had make a hard decision in book twelve of The Odyssey, whether or not to tell his men Scylla, a six headed monster with twelve legs who feasted on human flesh. Based on the events that transpired through the story Odysseus did the right thing by not telling his men.

Odysseus is a strong leader mainly because he does the unthinkable. Back in 6th grade I watched the movie and we had to write the same prompt on this. Since then I have realized many more ways the Odysseus is a strong leader. Many reasons include when he had all the sailors plug their ears with wax so they wouldnt hesr the sirens and crash the ship, or another time when he was faced with Scylla. Overall Odysseus is a strong leader because he tries his best to protects himself and his

In The Odyssey, an epic by homer, Odysseus and his crew are returning to their home island, Ithaca, from the Trojan War. Their ships have been blown off course and they are now lost at sea; it is up to Odysseus to lead his men home safely. Many readers believe that Odysseus is a strong leader whose only goal is to lead his men safely home to Ithaca. However, Odysseus has other, more personal goals in mind on the journey home. Understanding that Odysseus is an inadequate leader will give the readers a more in-depth understanding of Odysseus’ personality and mindset. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is unsuccessful in leading his men because he is egocentric when he assumes his superiority over others

Even when faced with adversity an exceptional leader continues to persevere to eventually reach an end goal. Leadership is to influence your followers and create a path to success. If our leaders do not have endurance in the face of opposition and are not willing to make personal sacrifices, we would not be able to compete in todays global environment. Today leaders develop talent by investing in education and equal rights. In The Odyssey, the protagonist is a leader named Odysseus who goes on a journey with his crew to get back home to Ithaka from Troy, after the trojan war. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, the poet Homer, suggests that Odysseus is a superior leader which is revealed by Odysseus's, bravery, intelligence, and

Odysseus is a leader of mixed, and often conflicting qualities. While he is quick on his feet and able to lead his men effectively, he lets his own emotions and vanity stand in the way of his objectives, frequently landing him and his men in more trouble than they were to begin with.

With excessive hubris, his men overpowering him, and losing sight of what is right, Odysseus displays poor leadership throughout the epic poem. One of Odysseus’s greatest hindrances from becoming a hero is his superfluous hubris. His hubris is the cause for many of his troubles during his journey, which not only affects him, but his crew as well. After they escaped the Kyklops that held he and his men captive, his hubris got the best of him as they were sailing away. “Kyklops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes son, whose home’s on Ithaka!” (IX,548-552) Due to his hubris, Poseidon then decided to make Odysseus’s journey even more difficult, therefore making it a longer and more arduous journey. Odysseus also establishes himself as a weak leader by letting his crew overpower him. As the leader of his crew, he should have full authority, but instead his crew was able to take advantage of him. “Here we all are, half dead with weariness, falling asleep over the oars, and you say ‘No landing’”. (XII,361-363) Odysseus, though warned against by the gods, capitulated

“Life is about making choices. Always do your best to make the right ones and always do your best to learn from the wrong ones” -Unknown. This quote displays how in life you don’t always make the best decisions but you grow from the wrong ones, and learn to not make the same mistake again. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, the main character shows positive traits of a leader. Odysseus is primarily an effective leader. Now, yes he made poor judgment calls, but that’s what being human is about, making mistakes learning from them, and moving forward. He didn’t let what happened to him hold him back, he continued to attempt to find his way back he even when he had lost so much.

Odysseus also shows examples of being a caring, and compassionate person. When Odysseus finally arrives at Ithaca and is talking to his swineherd his swineherd says “I called him master brother” (306, 160). The swineherd didn’t even know he was talking to Odysseus since Athena disguised him as an old beggar. So the swineherd just thought it was someone else and wasn’t trying to make himself look good in front of Odysseus he genuinely thinks of Odysseus as a brother. For a worker to call their boss or master a brother must mean they are a very kind and caring person because usually people don't really like their bosses and especially masters. When Odysseus was on Circe’s Island he has to sleep with her for a year in order to free his crew and for Circe to turn them back to humans. After a year Odysseus is still sleeping Circe and when the crew are finally bored of staying there while he slept with a god they ask him to go and Odysseus listened to them and they continued their journey. When Odysseus was with the Phoenicians and the daughter of the Phoenician King brings him to the palace and the king wasn’t happy about his daughter bringing in a random man off the street. The king was mad at his daughter but Odysseus steps in and says, “Your majesty [...] don't find fault with your flawless daughter now, not for my sake, please. She urged me herself to follow her maids. I chose not to, fearing embarrassment in fact what if you took offense seeing us both together. Suspicious