Odysseus: An Ineffective Leader In Homer's Odyssey

Constantly throughout the book, Odysseus shows great courage in any and every situation he is put in. We see this glimpse of courage when he fights the suitors, or when he saves his whole crew from the Cyclops. In book 9 as Odysseus and his crew are journeying through the cave of a Cyclops, Odysseus decides to make a very bold decision and blinds the Cyclops. “Hoisting high that olive stake with its stabbing point, straight ingo the monsters eye they rammed it hard.” (page 223, line 427-428) In this scene Odysseus drives a stake into his eye, in result blinding him. This was a very courageous decision because of the fact that he and his men are up against a Cyclops. At the same time, Cyclops’s are very strong and big, and Odysseus could have easily been killed . It turns out that the Cyclops is a offspring of Poseidon which put him and his crew into a lot of trouble and danger later in their journey, and if Odysseus knew that or not it was still a brave thing to do in order to save him and his crew at that moment.

The definition for leader is the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. This definition defines odysseus from The Odyssey because he is a person who commands a small army through Danger and survives. He keeps his men alive because he has analytical skills he takes the tasks at hand to his full attention and takes steps until the task is complete this helps him when he escapes the clutches of a cyclops and saves his men.

Although Odysseus is one of the most well known greek heros in the world, he is also very controversial among the people as well. In the book, “The Odyssey” written by Homer, Odysseus made some choices that makes the readers question his role as a leader. In “The Odyssey”, it tells the story about Odysseus’ long journey home from the Trojan War. Along the way, Odyssey has extended his times away from home by making unintelligent decisions that led him to encounter one disaster after another. Although Odysseus has some positive attributes, he is a poor leader for the following reasons: he is too cocky and overconfident, he make careless decision, and finally, he is very selfish.

On the island of the Cicones, after a fierce battle, Odysseus instructs the crew ( formerly a small army squadron) to round up slaves, food and other materials and board the ship to row back home. The crew says no and wants to feast on the comfy beach. A few survivors of the battle run inland to the main city to warn the main army. In the end, Odysseus and his men escape, leaving many dead. Now, it is right that this time, their deaths were not entirely his fault and Odysseus did care about his crew over here, trying to convince them to get on the ship and go home. But Odysseus couldn’t have done anything to change their minds. It was him against many who wanted to just stay on the beach. This time, it was the crew’s fault that so many were slain. But at the Cyclops, they were making a getaway, and Odysseus taunted the Cyclops and brought Poseidon’s wrath upon himself, making him at the fault for his crew’s deaths from that point on. So, to sum it all up, Odysseus is responsible for the deaths of his crew. If he hadn’t neglected them, brought a powerful god’s wrath upon them and expected them to follow him blindly, they would have made it back to Ithaca. Odysseus is a good example of what a leader shouldn’t be like. That is what Homer may have been trying to hint at when Odysseus had all his men killed; that a great leader shouldn’t be reckless and think about their own needs, but rather

“The art of leadership is saying no, and not saying yes”(Tony Blair). In the Odyssey, Odysseus is the captain of a large fleet trying to get back to their home, Ithaca. Odysseus, with his crew, had to go through many obstacles to return to Ithaca. Odysseus was a bad leader because he was selfish, arrogant, and couldn’t control his men.

In the epic poem The Odyssey written by Homer, Odysseus is a good leader because his men put their faith and loyalty in him and Odysseus can use his wits to get his men out of deadly crises.

Six of Odysseus’ men are eaten because of his foolishness. Again, Odysseus’ arrogance came into play when Odysseus and his men escape from the cyclops, Polyphemus. He taunts the monster, despite the fact that his men tell him stop. He exclaims, “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 is Ithaca” (Fitzgerald 908). If Odysseus did not provoke Polyphemus, the curse laid up on his ship and crew would have never happened. If he did not mock the cyclops, his odyssey would have been non existent. Odysseus always wanted to be remembered as the grandest hero of Greece. This is object when his ship rolls past the Sirens and Odysseus demands that he listens to their song. His overly extensive hubris clouds his mind and wants the fame of being able to survived the Sirens’ song. He never once considers what might have happened if he had

Throughout the entire book Odysseus shows that he as an amazing leader. “ Nine whole days we sailed, nine nights, nonstop”- Odysseus, (P. 231, L. 32.) Odysseus leads his crew to new lands always getting

In the epic The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus should not be considered a good leader because he is giving false hope to his crew and treats his crew very poorly by letting them die for his mistakes. A good leader should do what is necessary in order to achieve their goal and must be considerate of their crew, by respecting them and notifying them about any changes in their plans. It is the leader’s duty to let the crew decide what to do in tough situations and consider their opinions on entering risky scenarios.

Peter Drucker said, “Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes.” Homer proves this point in The Odyssey, which is an epic poem, and the main character is Odysseus. Odysseus is on his way back from the Trojan War and everyone returns back to Ithaca beside him, he is being held against his will, by Calypso, on Ogygia. He soon will be faced with problems that come about all because of himself. Some people like Odysseus are not fit to be a leader because he is arrogant, foolish, and a liar.

Odysseus was an effective leader for many reasons. one example was when Odyssey use his mind to get his men’s out of hades. one example was when he help his mans get to safety. he was an Effective leaders and in this part of the story,Odysseus men were scared of of the Hades, and they did not think Odysseus would make it back,so he told them not to worry, i will make it back and he tells them to leave if he doesn’t make it back to the ship. another example was when Odysseus and his men were stock in cave with the one eye monster.

In the novel, The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus is portrayed as a leader who must overcome a multitude of challenges. He is similar to Oprah Winfrey because of the struggles she had to overcome to get where she is today. Odysseus and Oprah share similar qualities as leaders, heroes and renown role models because of their strong desire to never give up. They are different because of their way of thinking and dealing with situations. Although people think Oprah is a more significant hero than Odysseus because of his flawed nature, Odysseus and Oprah are both brazen leaders because of their ability to use words and actions to empower the people around them.

“Leaders instill in their people a hope for success and a belief in themselves. Positive leaders empower people to accomplish their goals.” One of the greatest facets that any person can possess is leadership, the ability to create change for the better. Across the world, many believe Odysseus is one of the most iconic representations of what a hero should be, but the question of whether or not he was a good leader will always be open to interpretation. Every single person in the world has a unique style and strategy in order to efficiently follow through his or her plan and attain his or her set goal. Odysseus’s leadership style and strategy often raise inquiries of whether or not it was effective.

On the other hand, Odysseus is not the perfect hero he may seem to be. He can be extremely selfish, and has a sense of hubris that causes many problems for him and his crew. To start off, Odysseus' selfishness has been very easy to recognize these last few books. For example, when he informs his crew that they will be staying at Kirke's palace for some time, Eurylokhos objects. Odyseuss describes, "they turned back, as commanded, to this work; / only one lagged, and tried to hold the others" (10.475-76).

In the Epic Poem The Odyssey the reader is taken through the epic journey of Odysseus and his men. The epic hero Odysseus explored the wild sea with the help of gods and goddesses. Although an epic hero with bravery and wisdom, Odysseus did show himself as a average man with common mistakes.