Machiavelli and Odysseus

Odysseus was weary about it, but he was outnumbered, so, he agreed to stop at the island with only one rule they had to obey. They were not allowed to kill or touch the cattle on the island. The stay at the island was longer than Odysseus had planned, there were strong winds sent by Zeus that didn’t let them go bad out to sea, and forced them to stay in the island for a long time. One night Odysseus fell asleep. His men were starving, overcome by their hunger, they killed the cattle to eat. Once Odysseus found out, he cried out to the gods, “ O Father Zeus and gods in bliss forever, you made me sleep away this day of mischief! O cruel drowsing in the evil hour! Here they sat and a great work they contrived” (Homer 842). Odysseus failed at keeping his men from eating the cattle. The failure broke him down, but he still kept on going with his job, that later soon will led to his success. Odysseus succeeded many times along his journey, but there is always room to grow stronger. Odysseus failed once again at Helios’s Island. Once the winds, that were sent by Zeus, came to a stop, the men were able to carry on with the journey. But soon later, “with a

Odysseus proves his selfishness by disregarding any advice given to him by others and doing what he thinks will have the best outcome for himself. His egocentric attitude continues to be portrayed as he puts his health and well-being before his men. Aeolus, ruler of the winds, presents Odysseus with a bag of wind to guide him and his crew home, but instead of putting his pride aside and letting his men know what it is, he lets their imagination take over to where they assume it is filled with treasure that he is selfishly taking for himself. Although he was not actually taking treasure, it is selfish of him to keep this information from his men knowing they will open it. He puts all the blame on them when he says, ‘My coward comrades did me in’ (10.71). Odysseus could have easily prevented this, but he was too stubborn. Along their way home, the crew docks on Helios’ island where they are advised not to eat the cattle, but while Odysseus was away attempting to call on the gods, they sacrificed the best cows. A good leader would have explained to them consequences, but he was only worried about his own personal agenda. Because of this, Zeus punishes them when he says, ‘As for those sinners, I’ll soon strike their ship/with blazing lightning’ (12.394-395). These instances cause his

At the beginning of Book 12 “The Cattle of the Sun,” Circe explains to Odysseus the difficult routes that he has to take to reach his destination, the island of the Sun. He and his crew have to sail past three sea monsters that make their trip tricky: the horrifying Sirens, the quick snatching Scylla, and the ship-swallowing Charybdis. All but six members of Odysseus’ crew survived when their ship cleared all three of the monsters’ paths. Eventually, Odysseus and his men reached Helios’s island, and he immediately warned the crew not to eat or harm the sheep because they would pay the price. Daly, the men were stranded on the island for about a month, their supplies depleted, so the crew decided to slaughter Helios’ sheep. In the end, they

During his visit to the underworld, Odysseus was informed of one of his most formidable enemies: desire. Teiresias plainly told him that “if [he could] contain [his] own desire, and contain [his] companions… [they] might all make [their] way back to Ithaca” (Homer 171). When they finally saw the island, Odysseus did feel the desire to stop at the island, but tried to heed the warnings he received. His men however did not feel the same way he did. His me pestered him until he felt they had “[forced him] to it” but in reality he was just making an excuse to give in to his desires” (Homer 193). After indulging in his (and his crew’s) desires, he thought they would soon proceed off the island, however this was not the case. While exploring the island, his food deprived crew came upon the cattle of Helios, and being starving, began to cook and eat them, even sacrificing a part to the gods. Odysseus was walking back to their camp on his own when “the pleasant savor of cooking meat came drifting around [him], and [he] cried out [his] grief aloud to the gods immortal (Homer 194). Once he smelled the meat he knew that the horrific actions that were predicted would come true. All these things happened because Odysseus’ crew did not follow the instruction of their leader and instead followed their desires, but an even worse fate comes true when they disobey the gods themselves.

With all their food gone, the cows in the distance are beginning to look really tasty. When Odysseus left his men to pray, honestly, not the best idea, his men kill and eat a cow. This angers Helios and Odysseus’ ship ends up being struck by lightning, killing all of his men except for himself. Odysseus possibly should have thought a little bit more about what the gods would think before

Odysseus is spoken to by Eurylochus when the ship is nearing an island and still does not realize what he has done to his crew even when Eurylochus says “‘your crew’s half-dead with labor, starved for sleep’” (12.305). Eurylochus’ words go straight through Odysseus, as he only responds with a plea that would put him on good terms with the gods, not what would keep his crew safe and sound. Odysseus does not realize what he has done to so many valuable lives, he only continues to think about himself. Next, Eurylochus continues to step on Odysseus, telling him how inconsiderate it is for him to keep them cooped up on the ship and not letting them off to rest on land (12.306). Still, Odysseus is absolutely clueless on what he has done wrong. The men are fighting against him, yet he stands there and takes it as he does not think what they are saying is correct. After Odysseus finally step onto the island, having already enforced to the crew that the cattle should be left unharmed, he comfortably sits back as they “slaughtered and skinned the cattle” (12.386). If he really worried about the consequences, he would have supervised his crew while on the island. Instead, he fell asleep and left his crew to do exactly what they were not supposed to. Though, when he woke up and saw what the crew had done, he was quick to pray

Odysseus is a walking conflict machine. Wherever he goes, something is bound to go wrong, which is turns out alright for him, because he is lucky, and helped by the Gods, but his men...not so much. When Odysseus demands a gift from Polyphemus, saying “...here we stand, beholden for your help, or any gifts you give--as custom to honor strangers.” (11). By saying this, Odysseus creates a big conflict that ends up killing many of his men. Odysseus, of course, is spared, but a lot of his men are eaten alive. They did more than Odysseus in trying to avoid this situation, but he refused, and they paid the price for it, all because they happened to be less lucky than Odysseus. Odysseus being favored by the Gods is always a huge stroke of luck when conflict rolls around, no matter the conflict. They can’t even punish him correctly. When he disobeyed their direct orders about eating Helios’s cows, the still protected him right after punishing him. When Odysseus is on the verge of death because of their punishment, and at ready to be eaten by Scylla, Homer writes, “ Never could I have passed her had not the father of gods and men, this time, kept me from her eyes.”(23). Another example of this is when Odysseus and his crew mates land on Circe’s island, he sends his men first to investigate. When before he can catch up to them, a God stops him, and warns him of a

Odysseus also shows When he told his men not to touch the cattle or anything, that it will not be a good outcome. His men don't listen to him and goes ahead. As the Result of killing the Cattle the text states “They are punished with death a thunderbolt from Zeus destroys their boat and all the men drowned.”(770) It was Odysseus fault for making the stop, he was told before not to even go on the island just to keep going. His men didn't listen to him thats why it pulled him Calypso

In literature, mankind is often seen as imperfect and flawed. From sacred texts like the Bible to classic books such as The Odyssey we can see the true flaws of humans. Specifically book twelve of The Odyssey shows the flawed nature of mankind and how it leads to mankind's downfall. Circe, the goddess that Odysseus encounters during his initially half hearted journey home, gives advice to Odysseus about the dangers ahead and what he should do in order to get past them. Despite the advice given to him by a goddess, Odysseus "cleared [his] mind of Circe's orders..." because they were "cramping [his] style..."

I think Odysseus made a bad decision. Because he didn't stop his crew from eating Helios cattle.After a month he knew that they were low on food and water. He had told them, “For these cows and lovely sheep belong to Helios, a fearful god” (Homer 412). How every now they are starving, he falls asleep knowing that there hungry. While he's sleeping, they

Throughout his journey, Odysseus is put in positions that challenge him mentally and physically. Sometimes, these trials require sacrificing personal values and items before he can overcome them. Like on Kirke’s island, Odysseus makes a sacrifice very few would: “She will cower and yield her bed- a pleasure you must not decline” (X, 334-335). To free his men, Odysseus gives in to temptation not because he wants to, but because he is willing to put forward his self to get out them all out of this situation. Even though his men got themselves changed into swine, Odysseus’s courage and thoughts of home is what frees them from their curse. This shows that the son of Laertes will surrender what is his, to keep the people around him safe. In another part of the journey, his crew mates even ask him if he is “flesh and blood...to endure more of a man can” (XII, 358-359) because he tells them not to land on Thrinakia. But when Odysseus sees that his crew does need the rest, he submits and tells them to land. Here, Odysseus knows of the dangers and temptations that lay ahead of them if they land, but he agrees to it because his crew needs to regain their energy to continue. Although the outcome of his decision was fatal for his crew, his choice shows that he would risk their journey to keep his men in healthy condition. Near the end of the book, Odysseus makes another sacrifice needed to keep things quiet. He tells the old nurse “Be

In the world we live in today the roles of power and leadership are often confused. Although they have similar meanings, they can be distinctly defined between the latter. The key difference between the two is the term of effect. Power is the exercise of leadership, and leadership is only defined if you have power. Leadership always involves attempts on a leader to affect behavior or a follower in a situation, whereas power is not equivalent with influence on another person’s behavior. Although power and leadership have similar meanings, they are certain differences that can point out what makes

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