As a leader, Odysseus was a failure, because of the unnecessary death of his crew. Odysseus would not be considered a strong leader because he did not try to help his crew, he ignored the issues he faced. When trying to defeat enemies, such as the Cyclops, he became cocky and inconsiderate to his crew and himself which could have got him in trouble, then he was not being truthful to his men. Odysseus was not a strong leader and ultimately contributed to the destruction of his own men because he was not careful of how he was interacting with his enemies and not respecting his crew, by not being honest with them. To start, Odysseus was not even close to being a strong leader because he put himself and his crew in danger when they were fighting the Cyclops. He had his crew tied under rams all night to attack. Then, after defeating the Cyclops he became too cocky and said his name in front of the Cyclops; not only did this put Odysseus in danger but also his crew now that the Cyclops knows his identity. For example when the text says "Cyclops, if ever mortal man can inquire how you were put to shame and blinded tell him Odysseus, raider of the cities, took your eye: Laertes' son, whose home's on Ithaca!" Giving away the location and identity of himself was not a smart or smart decision to make for his crew. …show more content…
At the Land of the Dead, Odysseus finds out that he will be the only one of his crew to make it back to Ithaca. What makes Odysseus a bad leader at this point in the book is that he does not tell his crew the information he just found out, instead he twisted the truth. When the text says "Dear friends, more than one man, or two, should know those things Circe foresaw for us and shared, so let me tell her forecast: then we die with our eyes open, if were going to die, or knowing what death we battle if we can." He leaves his crew hopeful of returning to
Is Odysseus, the main character of Homer’s The Odyssey, really an epic hero? An epic hero embodies several heroic traits such as; having superior or super-human strength; being intellectual and courageous; and being a strong and responsible leader. An epic hero struggles and is overwhelmed with difficulties. An epic hero is on a quest of self discovery, war or some sort of goal. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is on a quest to return home to Ithaca after ten years of war in Troy. Odysseus, during his quest, is forced to venture through a merciless Cyclops, angered Gods, deeply obstinate Goddesses, the underworld, and determined suitors that are after his wife Penelope. Odysseus surmounts over these obstacles and returns home safely with courage, intelligence, superior strength, brave leadership, and also performs brave deeds.
While many factors contribute to the failure of Odysseus as a leader, at the heart of them all underlies his fatal pride.
There are many different ways that a hero can be described or imagined. Everyone has their own ideas of what makes someone a hero. Also, for many heroes it is debatable whether they really are a hero. In The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald, Odysseus is one such debatable hero. Odysseus is a hero because he is brave, level-headed, and he shows faithfulness and respect to important figures in his life.
Odysseus’ weak leadership skills become magnified over the course of his journey through his failures during each obstacle. For example, Odysseus has no control over his men who “were mutinous,/fools, on stores of wine. Sheep after sheep/ they butchered by the surf, and shambling cattle,/ [they were] feasting” (47-50). Although Odysseus knew that what his men were doing was wrong, he made no attempt to stop them. This laziness and lack of control cost him the lives of some of his crew. Secondly, Odysseus did not learn from his mistakes since, “when I cupped my hands I heard the crew in low voices protesting:/ ‘Godsake, Captain!/ Why bait the beast again? Let him alone’” (447-449). Odysseus let his anger and emotions guide him, throwing away
Is Odysseus a good leader? No, Odysseus is not a good leader because he’s crew is all dead towards the end of the the first few years of his journey. Not at all of it is not his fault but he was the one who chose to go to where they stop. Like when they stopped on the cyclops island “ he lunged out with his hands toward my men and snatching two at once.” (Book 9 Lines 326-327) This quote shows that Odysseus let his men die, he didn’t have to bring his men to that spot he could of brought them somewhere else. He also didn’t really put effort into stopping cyclops from eating them. So in conclusion Odysseus is a very bad leader because he just let his men die.
Odysseus was a good leader by leading through the island of the lotus-eaters, through the Cyclopes’ cave, and through the sea monsters. In book nine Odysseus landed in the land of the lotus-eaters. When Odysseus and his men landed on the island of the lotus-eaters, he showed great leadership. He sent out two men to go see if the native people were hospitable. They were gone for longer than he had expected so he went to get them. When he had found them they had tasted the lotus and did not want to leave. Odysseus got them out and told everyone to get on board for he feared that they might taste the lotus and want to stay. Also in book nine, Odysseus landed on the shores of the
Odysseus is a strong leader because after losing his strongest men and his ship which was the only way home, Odysseus never gives up on wanting to get him and
As much as I don’t like to admit , Odysseus has a lot of bad qualities that could change my opinion on him being a good leader, for example
Who wants to be a leader when one has to be responsible for all of his people? In the epic poetry, Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus proves to be a great leader when he safely brings his men home. Odysseus is a famous Greeks hero who attempts to get home after ten years on his journey where he has faces many problems and obstacles. Although people may argued that Odysseus is a weakness leader, He is able to keep his men together for most of the story because of his responsibility, motivation and compassion.
Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, they are remembered for their selfless acts and courage to do what others have failed to do. There are many types of leaders. A not so good leader is considered a detrimental leader, because they tend to be selfish, poor in judgement of character, and only see their needs. A great leader is defined by their actions, bravery, and ability to step-up when things get tough, someone who will put it all on the line for those following behind regardless of the stakes. Odysseus was a great leader because of his courage, strength, and compassion that he displayed for others to witness while encouraging others to be influenced.
Not only was Odysseus an ineffective leader during his brawl with Polyphemos, the same qualitites begin the show up again. On Circe’s island, Odysseus’ crew is kept back from home, for he had only Circe in mind. To be specific, during the ordeals with Circe, she uttered “we two shall mingle and make love upon our bed”, as a mean to seduce Odysseus.(Homer 179 //. 64-69). Her valiant effort proves to be a success, considering Odysseus’ choice to stay with Circe for the next year. This event only lengthen the trip home;thus, justifying Odysseus ineffectiveness as a leader. Eventually Odysseus’ love affair ended;however, it was not his decision.Throughout the ordeals with Circe, he is reminded of home when his men said “captain shake off this
There have been many great leaders throughout history,including Odysseus. Great leaders are mentally tough, smart, confident,and encouraging, but some detrimental qualities include weakness, lacking of empathy and not having confidence.A leader is someone a group looks to for guidance, there have been many great leaders throughout history,including Odysseus. Great leaders are mentally tough, smart, confident,and encouraging, but one detrimental quality a leader can have is lacking empathy.With these qualities I’m going to put Odysseus to the test.
In ancient times, it wasn't a piece of cake to command a legion of 500 warriors or more and most importantly win a battle. However, Odysseus had managed to just do that in the Battle of Troy: “We are Achaeans coming from Troy, beaten off our true course by winds from every direction across the great gulf of the open sea, making for home, by the wrong way, on the wrong courses. So we have come”( Homer 9.259-261). As everyone is happy and overjoyed with any victory they achieve, Odysseus is thrilled and overjoyed and proudly hails that he fought for Achaea and won. After a series of dead ends, traps and godly encounters they finally make it back to Ithaca. Hence because Odysseus is capable of commanding an army of 500 warriors and win battles, he is therefore considered a leader.
I think many young kids would admire Odysseus today. Leadership skills are great to have in the society today, and Odysseus had great leadership skills. One great leadership skill Odysseus had, was he never went with what his brain was telling him to. Odysseus always took the response into more consideration, and did what his heart was telling him to do. Many times the Greeks just wanted to do what their brain was telling them to do, however it was not the best choice.
In the epic poem ‘The Odyssey’, by Homer, Odysseus, the narrator and captain of a crew goes through many obstacles as he tries to lead his crew back to their homeland, Ithaca, after ten years of battling the Trojan War. Odysseus was the king of Ithaca and seen as a great leader. Good leaders are those who can lead and direct without misusing their power and also protect their crew. Although Odysseus has the characteristics of a good leader sometimes, I don’t think that he is one as a whole mainly because he can’t control his men, lacks the gain of respect and trust from his crew, and gets carried away with his pride.