Essay on The Amazing Leadership of Odysseus in Homer's The Odyssey

Odysseus should not be considered a good leader because he doesn’t care about his crew and lets them die for his mistakes. When Odysseus and his crew rob the Cyclops of many items, a crew member suggests,“Why not take these cheeses, get them stowed, come back, throw open all the pens, and make a run for it” (149-151). They get a lot of treasure from the Cyclops and have the opportunity to leave with the treasure without getting caught. Though, Odysseus’ pride and curiosity tells him,“Ah, how sound that was! Yet I refused. I wished to see the cave man, what he had to offer- no pretty sight, it turned out, for my friends” (153-156). A good leader would have thought about what the repercussions of his actions may lead to, but Odysseus didn’t seem to have this thought process as a leader. Deciding the do only what he wanted, without consulting his crew, tells them to see the Cyclops. It is a very dangerous move because it could get the crew killed and only a bad leader would guide their crew straight to their death. Since it says “no pretty sight…for my friends”, we can assume something bad happened to Odysseus’s crew. Anything that happened was the effect of Odysseus’s inability to care for his crew and to stop playing with their lives like pawns. Thus, since the reason behind the loss of Odysseus’s crew members was Odysseus’s fault and his carelessness, we can conclude that he is a bad leader who doesn’t look

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.

In The Odyssey, Odysseus goes on a long journey in which he takes part in dangerous adventures. Odysseus is an example of Homer’s greek hero. He is a leader of his people and they depend and follow him. Odysseus is brave; he believes in himself and trusts that he is doing the right thing. Odysseus values his honor and is confident in himself.

Odysseus was a really good leader for many reasons.The first example or reason is that Odysseus wants to go home safe with his crew.

During his journey Odysseus leads his crew through thick and thin whether they are just sailing or if they are facing monsters he always comes through. Throughout his journey Odysseus really shows that he is a good leader by taking charge in these sticky situations. Odysseus

Odysseus was a leader who faced many challenges throughout his long journey and overcame them with the heroic attributes of intelligence, bravery and cleverness. When he completed his service fighting in the war, he could not have guessed the trials that would come his way. However, throughout the story, we have much evidence to show the strength and determination he showed, especially when facing the one-eyed cyclops, Polyphemus.

One eyed monsters, witches, sea creatures, and beautiful women all test a leaders ability to command and direct his men down the correct path that benefits all. In Homer’s epic poem,”The Odyssey”, the great leader Odysseus battles in and wins the Trojan War. Odysseus angers the gods with his hubris and as a result he will face life threatening and dangerous situations during his travels back home to Ithaca. Once returning he fights over a hundred men who are trying to take his throne. Odysseus is a good leader as seen through his perseverance, ability to think ahead, and intelligence.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus is an amazing leader because, time after time, get his men out of difficult situations. For example, Odysseus gets his men out of a difficult situation on the island of cyclops. He does this by blinding the eye of the cyclops, then riding out on the sheep when they get let out, saving most of his men. He felt the urge to get his men out because they were getting eaten. He is a good leader because he cares for his men and gets them out of difficult situations. Odysseus also saves his men when they are with Circe. She turns half of them into pigs, so to keep the other half human, he slept with her. So she let them stay safe with her for a year because of Odysseus. He saves his men once again by doing this. Some

The main cliche of the epic The Odyssey has always been that Odysseus has a great leader that thinks on his feet. In fact, the opposite can be more feasible since his actions seem to tell a different story. From the words in this epic, Odysseus demonstrates pride, a weak authority, and fear of difficult challenges thus explaining him being a horrendous leader shown to be the opposite of cliche the book says. Odysseus has too much pride, for example, he does not listen to his crewmates for signal or help like in the episode of “The Cyclops”. Once Odysseus and his crew were able to leave the island Odysseus screams insults at the cyclops the crew ask him to stop but does not listen until the cyclops almost killed them with a boulder (The Cyclops.

Odysseus is also trying to exact his revenge for Polyphemus eating two of his men. It is easy to tell at this point that Odysseus deeply cares for his crew and mourns the loss of their eating, while trying his best to get his crew and himself away from the immediate danger of Polyphemus consuming them. In addition, when Odysseus landed on Circe’s island, “recalling the fierce … choice fell on the firm Eurylochus”(197). At this point, Odysseus has realized that he made some boo-boos in the past. But he still feels it is the best thing for the group, because maybe since Odysseus is Greek and so used to people being very gracious hosts/hostesses that he is naive in thinking otherwise. He always expects them to be good hosts that's what his son and wife are doing right now back in Ithaca. So, Odysseus’ idea that he is helping the crew and other men is

A gratifying leader acquires certain traits that allows them to take on such a difficult task. Leadership is easier defined then implemented; many leaders approach situations in a different manner however they all display selflessness. The epic is about the main character Odysseus who has been struggling for ten years to return to his home in Ithaca after guiding his men in the Trojan war. Throughout the epic “The Odyssey” Odysseus displays god like qualities his rash sense of superiority clouds his judgment and studiously judges others through his harsh tone and uncivil actions. When the main character Odysseus came from his confrontation with the goddess Circe his group of men are happy and grateful to see him.

In the book “The Odyssey” there were many situations where Odysseus might not have been the strongest leader. I think that he was a strong leader overall in many different circumstances. Towards the beginning of the book when he gets to the first island where they stopped for food and supplies. I think he was a good leader cause he went with them but when they had troubles with the others it wasn't his fault that he lost some of his men. He could not control what happened at that island. Towards the middle of the book when he goes to the underworld to find Teiresias. He goes by himself with none of his men all alone. I think that when he did this it made himself look very tough and strong. Towards the end where he goes by Charybdis and scylla

“Leadership consists not in degrees of technique but in traits of character; it requires moral rather than athletic or intellectual effort, and it imposes on both leader and follower alike the burdens of self-restraint.”-(Lewis H. Lapham). In the epic of the Odyssey, the main character Odysseus has many traits. Odysseus’ traits show the true characteristics in the story by seeing his character act under pressure and overcome it. Odysseus is a war hero, but after the war he will encounter challenges. He is an intelligent leader who is determined to end his epic journey and get home to his son and wife.

When he did this, Odysseus is putting the lives of his soldiers at risk because he wanted everyone to know he was the one to defeat the cyclops. Odysseus beckons for punishment from the gods. He shows lack of respect towards the gods, his people, and lack of respect for his family. Odysseus stays seven years with Circe as her lover. He is unfaithful to his wife, who is at home trying to avoid marriage.

Odysseus faced several obstacles and went through many tests on his way home from the Trojan War. Odysseus’ first obstacle—the Island of the Cicones—was because of his greed. He stopped here to raid it for supplies, and him and his men looted a lot of goods and split it amongst themselves. In spite of this, they were greedy, which compelled them to stay in town and collect every last bit they can; however, the Cicones attacked on horseback and killed 72 of Odysseus’ men. From this obstacle, he learns not to be greedy in victory. One of his most difficult trials was when he encountered the Island of the Cyclopes. He and his men found a Cyclops’ cave; however, they were trapped inside of it by Polyphemus, the Cyclops. (Necessary??)  Odysseus could not