How Is Odysseus A Good Leader

Odysseus is an epic hero, he is a natural leader and at some points in the book smarter than everyone else. After stabbing the cyclopes in the eye and the cyclopes moving the boulder Odysseus had to think of a way to get his men out safely and this quote shows his intelligence and leadership skills "I tied them silently together, twining cords of willow from the cyclops's bed; then slung a man under each middle one to ride there safely,

Since the cyclops’ vision is impaired, Odysseus “tied them silently together, twining/cords of willow from the ogre’s bed/then slung a man under each middle one/to ride there safely, shielded left and right/So three sheep could convey each man” (Homer 500). Odysseus possess the trait of cleverness which is demonstrated through his quick thinking and by only using using the resources available to free his men from Polyphemus’ grasp. He is a man to be revered because he uses his cunning skills to help others reach safety. Odysseus is also the last man to exit the cave because he puts their lives before his. He is also willing to take the responsibility and consequences of their actions. For example, if the cyclops were to notice him he would force his men escape and leave him behind to be devoured. Odysseus is a hero, for his willingness to put his companions’ lives before his own and use of his wits to save those around him.

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.

Odysseus expressed wisdom most often. On page 559 it said, “He devised a scheme in which the Greeks left a wooden horse outside the walls of Troy and trick the Trojans into taking it inside” (Homer 559). He showed wisdom because, Odysseus helped his men think of an idea to tricked their enemy and not get caught. Again whenever his men were in desperate need Odysseus always had a plan. Continuing to page 565, Odysseus expressed wisdom saying,“We beached there and I told my crew to stand by and keep watch as myself I took twelve of my best fighters and went ahead”(Homer 565 ). This showed wisdom because Odysseus one, had a plan instead of all his men and two put everyone in order. Also he took his best fighters and went on the island to explore. These two examples expressed one of Odysseus epic hero traits.

Odysseus was known for his many of his mental traits, but his most useful ones were his bravery cleverness, and wisdom. Without these helpful traits he probably would have died from the very beginning. Fortunately, he was granted with these traits so that he could come back to his kingdom of Ithaca to see his wife and son for the first time in twenty years and to also kill the suitors that tried to kill his son and take his wife, land, and possessions from him.

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.

In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus demonstrates his unimpressive and weak leadership skills. He is brave in his decision-making because he knows what is best for him and what must be done to get back to Ithaca, but it is done out of selfishness. His selfishness is portrayed by being thoughtless about putting his men into dangerous situations even if it results in their deaths along the way. Although he puts himself and his safety before his shipmates, he frightens them into not questioning him which causes them to obey his orders. He does not take advice from anyone because everything he does is to make an impression on the gods and capture their attention. Hardships are thrown his way throughout his journey, and he distracted

In the Odyssey, Odysseus is quite the legend known to people, whether you are high up in the sky with Zeus, or deep in the ocean with Poseidon, everyone knows Odysseus. In the epic poem, the Odyssey told by the one and only Homer, the brave, the godlike human, Odysseus is finding his way home after the big battle victory against the Trojans. This story is about his travels home and how he got caught up in other business. Let’s just say he stabbed Poseidon’s son, had his crew turned into pigs, faced a six-headed monster and whirlpool, and that is to say the least. He may as well be on America’s most wanted list with all the trouble he was causing. Even though Odysseus is a troublemaker, he has multiple great characteristics of a leader. Odysseus, when it comes to his crew and family, is confident, compassionate, wise, and always knows a way to get out of any problem.

One of Odysseus’s most well known traits is his ability to use his wits to conquer challenges that stand in the way of him and Ithaca. Out of the many examples strewn in the epic, the tale of the Cyclops is the most obvious situation that clearly depicts the main character’s sharpness. In this scene, Odysseus and his men are trapped and must escape the Cyclops, Polyphemus. After they have already struck Polyphemus in the eye, ruining his vision, the men tie themselves to the underbelly of the rams in order to sneak out when the animals are sent to the pasture. In the text it states, “Blinded, and sick with pain from his head wound, the master stoked each ram, then let it pass, but my men riding on the pectoral fleece the giant’s blind hands blundering never found.” This excerpt conveys that Odysseus’s astute plan worked efficiently because none of his crew was noticed by Polyphemus. Odysseus was able to flee the Cyclops, which is respectable considering he used his brains rather than brawn.

Odysseus is intelligent. For example, Odysseus uses a strategy to make sure he doesn’t get lured by the sirens. He tells the crew, “Therefore you are to tie me up tight as a splint, erect along the mast, lashed to the mast” (12. 24-27). This shows that Odysseus rescued the sailors and himself from an obstacle that had the potential of not only ending their journey

This leader shows loyalty to his men. When his crew eats the lotus flowers causing them to lose the desire to return home, he does not leave his men behind. Odysseus forces his men to get on the ship and refuses to leave without them. Also when Circe turns his men into swine, he persuades her to change them back to their normal form. Odysseus is also very wise, in the Trojan War it was his idea to use the Trojan horse. He knew not to tell his men about Scylla and Charybdis, for they would be extremely fearful and not want to pursue the mission. Odysseus is also very crafty and strategic. In the spur of the moment he came up with plan to get out of the Cyclops’s cave. Odysseus tricked the Cyclops into thinking his name was “Nobody,” and then figured out a way to escape. Another occurrence was when his ship wrecked, he crafted a raft out of the broken pieces of his ship and

In Homer’s original text of The Odyssey, the speaker portrays Odysseus as an extremely ardent leader. The speaker expresses this characteristic as Odysseus asks himself, “Rag of a man that I am, is this the end of me? I fear the goddess told it all too well, predicting great adversity at sea and far from home.”(5.309-312). Here the speaker allows Odysseus to ask himself a rhetorical question as it portrays himself as a leader who is still mortal and knows what suffrage he has at hand and is ready to take it on at full to get himself and his men home. Homer also portrays his cleverness and determination to get his men out of a difficult situation when they encounter Zeus’ son the Cyclops and when he is angered and hurt and asks Odysseus who the man is that did this to him, he replies, “My name is Nobody: mother father and friends, everyone calls me Nobody.”(9.394-399). This scene provides the readers with a repetitive, vivid and image-filled scene that shows that Odysseus using his mind as his weapon and that he would go as far as to lie to a son of the Gods after impaling him so as to remove his men from the situation and continue on with his journey. Homer again expresses the effect that Odysseus’ actions and leadership skills have had on people as even the Gods speak of him highly as Zeus speaks to Athena mentining how “Could I forget that kingly man Odysseus? There is no mortal half so wise; no mortal gave so much to the lords of the open sky."(1.84-86). Zeus asks himself another question which apparently past has stuck with the Gods which are the highest power and even Zeus, the king, has something to say of the great and iconic impact that Odysseus has somehow left on Mount Olympus. Along with Odysseus’ determination and ardency to set and complete a goal at hand for him, there is another side to him that is portrayed by the speaker, that is his confidence. Odysseus is no idiot and he knows where what his social standings are in society and that being the

Another way Odysseus is also a hero is he always finds a way to survive whether he is in conflict or out on the sea. One of the many situations Odysseus survives is his encounter with Skylla. Six of his crew members do perish but through his hard work and dedication he survives. He makes another smart decision in choosing to go through Skylla instead of Kharybdis because only six of his crew members die instead of the whole crew. Another decision Odysseus makes to survive is not eating the cattle of Helios while on Thrinikia, his crew members choice in eating the hallowed cows results in their death, but Odysseus knew the consequences and did not touch a cow. Another way Odysseus' quick-decision skills helps him is when he chooses to leave the island of the Lotous-eaters, because he realized his whole crew would have fell under the curse if he had stayed there. Odysseus is also a master tactician whose complex plans save his crew and help him regain his crown. One of these plans was his ingenious idea to trick Polyphemos, which shows he is a hero by saving countless lives. Another plan he implemented was to kill the suitors which is also a success because Odysseus and Telemakos themselves kill over a hundred men without an injury to themselves .Odysseus is a quick-thinker whose resourceful ideas save many lives.

What makes a good leader? A good leader is wise and brave. A good leader fights for the people they are protecting. That is why Odysseus is classified as a good leader. He always does what best for his men. Odysseus is a good leader because he saves his men on multiple occasions, he does not leave his men even though he has many opportunities to, and does everything he can to protect his men.

Odysseus showed that he was loyal to his men just not by leaving them behind, but he revealed his true colors to notify his men that they cannot not ever give up even when things get difficult. He was known for his leadership skills; leaving home for so many years, to return back to his family. During Odysseus early life, he had the ability to solve problems as well as outwit his opponents. He promotes his own code of conduct through his exploits. Odysseus is more intense than Achilles, more pensive, but still is able to create explosive violence. Odysseus is all about being victorious; even when it was time for him to return back to his home.” A man who has been through bitter experiences and travelled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time” (Odyssey). This quote represents all of the misery that he came upon his excursion. He played a special role in Homer’s lliad; demonstrating his abilities to advise his followers so they can be independent.