Leadership In The Odyssey

A hero is someone who is humble and protects others. Hero’s also show leadership. This story comes from Prentice Hall Literature on page 980 “The Odyssey” by Homer. Odysseus departs from Troy after being in the Trojan war for twenty years. Odysseus shows many heroic traits throughout this story. For Example, Odysseus showed intelligence when he tricked the Cyclops named Polyphemus, son of Poseidon and blinded him. Odysseus also showed leadership when he motivated his team to keep on rowing towards Scylla and Charybdis. Finally, Odysseus showed determination when he conquered all his obstacles and still survived even though he lost his team.

Leadership is all about having the right amount of heart and determination to help make a difference in someone’s life. It takes certain qualities to be considered a good leader. A leader should want to help inspire others to make a change and to be the best that they can be. A true leader does not need to feel powerful, instead they empower those around them. Throughout my life I have come across various leaders who have made an impact on my life. It takes a very special person to inspire and touch people’s lives. Leadership is so much deeper than having power and bossing people around.

Odysseus’ support to his crew through every situation and hardship, throughout The Odyssey, is one main sign that the Ancient Greeks valued loyalty. In the Lotus Eaters, Odysseus, “...drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, / tied them down under their rowing benches / and called the rest…”(9.48-50). Through this difficult situation, Odysseus is shown supporting his crew as their leader and keeping them on the right path by taking control of those who were possessed by the magic of Lotus plants. When his crew members struggled to stay on course, Odysseus was able to take responsibility by supporting and guiding them. Another event that showed this is Odysseus and his crew’s encounter with the sirens. According to the text, "Going forward / I carried wax along the line, and laid it / thick on their ears." (12.115-17). Here, Odysseus shows his support to his crew by contributing to protecting them from being hypnotized by the tempting sounds of the sirens by preparing wax to plug their ears with. Again, Odysseus and his crew know they will face the challenge of staying on course, and Odysseus takes these actions to support them and secure their safety. Odysseus’ support in both situations that put him and his crew in danger, reveal the Greeks’ value of

Built-in qualities such as intelligence, good looks, height and so on are not necessary to become a good leader. Anyone can cultivate the proper leadership qualities. In order to excel in their leadership a good leader must possess qualities such as self awareness, courage, confidence, innovation, fairness, openness, and dedication among others. Odysseus in The Odyssey, and Samuel, Saul and David in the Books of Samuel, display these characters. However, at some occasions they fail to do so. That is to say, leaders, being it great or small, chosen by God or people, are not completely perfect.

In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is a bad example of a leader. First, Odysseus is not disciplined enough to discipline his crew even if not punishing them will cause them to ignore his orders again. For example, in the Epic of Aeolus, Odysseus asks Aeolus to put all the storms into a bag, “...curious and suspicious the sailors open the bag, thinking it contains treasure… hurricanes blow the ships back to Aeolus.”[Page 673; Line 535] This quote shows his crew not adhering to Odysseus’s orders to not open the bag. After, this happens he does not punish them instead he moves on. This shows him not wanting to control his crew instead let them do what they want. Doing so causes them to be more mutinous and ignorant towards Odysseus in the future. Odysseus does not show good leadership qualities because he himself if not strong enough to get on to his crewmates and tell them what's what.

Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus demonstrates multitudinal acts of phenomenal leadership and bravery. First, Odysseus defends his men from the beastly Cyclops, defending his men when nobody else will. After, Odysseus visits Kirke’s island and rescues his crew from Kirke’s potion, jeopardizing his life for his mens. Finally, he protects his men from the treacherous underworld and risks his safety for his crewman.

Imagine a society influenced by thoughtless, cowardly leaders. These qualities lead to a major impact on the society, causing an uncivilized nation. For instance, the people will have no hope or faith toward any aspirations in mind because of their fearful behavior. These subjects will also struggle with relationships and reasonable decision-making, due to the careless aspect of their personality. A prosperous society is positively affected by leadership figures, such as Steve Jobs and Odysseus, who have the characteristics of both confidence and intelligence.

In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus demonstrates three important traits of leadership; creativity, courage, and intelligence. For example, Odysseus displayed creativity in “The Cyclops”. Odysseus used his creativity to save his men from Polyphemus, a terrible cyclops, by coming up with the idea to blind Polyphemus with a stake, to escape his cave. Without careful planning and creative thinking, Odysseus would not have been able to lead his men to safety and they all would have died as prisoners of Polyphemus. Additionally, Odysseus displayed his courage in “The Land of the Dead”.

In the world so chaotic, everybody needs a strong leader to keep things smooth and going. There are different leaders needed in different situations, and the more complicated or dangerous the situation is, the stronger and smarter the leader should be. One of the great examples of a strong leadership that has been described in literature is the one of Odysseus. Odysseus is a hero in Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey. Odysseus is portrayed as a smart, strong and charismatic leader.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus was a very effective leader in many ways. One example is when Odysseus protects one of his crew members after he was turned into a pig.The crew was very hungry, and was on Circe's island. Some members went off to find food, and one came back with a pig. He said that they couldn't eat this pig because it was his friend, and that Circe turned him into a pig. Odysseus showed leadership by telling his crew to wait, and to let him go and see if he is telling the truth. Odysseus He had to sacrifice himself to Circe, so she could change his men back to humans. Odysseus was brave, and strong. He climbed up the mountains, and gave himself to Circe, but the whole time was thinking about his wife, Penelope. Another example is

Odysseus shows us the true meaning of leadership throughout the Odyssey.In the Odyssey, Odysseus decides to step up and take charge in many aspects of their journey. For example, ”The rest of you loyal friends stay here, while I and my crew take ship and try and find out who these men are,”( Odyssey Book IX 152-192). This shows his leadership because he is ordering the other people to stay by the boat so they can stay safe. Another piece of evidence is,”I ordered the men to cast lots as to which of them should dare to help me raise the stake and twist it into the Cyclops’ eye when sweet sleep took him,”(Odyssey Book IX 307-359). Through Odysseus words, we can tell he is taking charge so they all can return to safety because he cares about them.

A leader and a great leader have two very different meanings, but are seperated by one word. A leader is defined as someone who commands a group. A great leader is defined as an above average person who commands a group. Odysseus falls under the category of a great leader. He does everything he can to save his men, even if it hurts himself. He knows what information he can give to his men, and what he shouldn’t, because he wants to keep their hopes up. He also doesn’t give up even when times are rough.

In The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus performs many leadership acts that help him and his men get back home to Ithaca(TS). One example of his leaderships skills, is perseverance (SI1). When him and his men were sailing home to Ithaca and came upon Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus motivated the crew and overcame a difficult obstacle and decision, “‘Friends, have we never been in danger before this?”(E1). Odysseus had to decide whether he would risk going past Charybdis which he could have lost all of his men or he could have gone by Scylla, and no doubt lose six men; this kind of decision is called a ‘rock in a hard place’ meaning he had to make a decision and it was lose lose situation no matter what.(D1). Which leads to his quick problem solving,

Traits of Leadership A true leader is someone who would sacrifice their life for someone else, someone who would do whatever it takes to make the right decision. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus is an example of a great leader. He is brave and wise, he exemplifies these traits multiple times throughout this poem.

Leadership is a skill that requires an individual to guide another individual or a group. It increases innovation potential and plays a significant role in followers lives, an example of this would be how a recent survey shown out of 1,200 professionals, only 88 percent stated that receiving a praise from their manager was either “very” or “extremely” rewarding. In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey talks about a well known hero that fights in the Trojan war for 10 years then struggles for another 10 years trying to get his men and himself back home. The epic poem is about the conflicts he faces and what he does to overcome them. Leadership is intelligence and the ability to demonstrate gallant acts while fighting inner desires for oneself.