Odysseus As An Effective Leader Essay

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Dr. Joseph Campbell penned an interesting book A Hero with a Thousand Faces. In that book, he explained how a hero goes through steps or stages in just about every story, myth, or religion known to man. After recently reading and discussing The Odyssey by Homer it is quite obvious that the protagonist Odysseus followed the stages of a hero outlined by Campbell. This essay will not dispute the issue of Odysseus being a hero, but it will turn critical eye on whether or not Odysseus is an effective leader. Unlike another character out of the battles of ancient Troy like Achilles. Odysseus is not a demigod, and he is not purely a soldier. He is a king and a family man along with being a military leader. This paper takes the stance that Odysseus should be considered an effective leader. Those who would disagree with this assertion point to the problem of Odysseus not telling …show more content…

He took charge when his crew would panic and also when he got home. When his crew would panic, he would start giving out orders to calm the crew down. Also, when he got home, he started ordering his son to do stuff that he needed done. He wanted his son to get all of the weapons out of the room so can kill the suitors without then being able to fight back. He also wanted all of the maids that they knew were not loyal killed and the room where he killed the suitors cleaned spotless. The final reason is that he was loyal to he crew. He ran to save them from Circe's spell. He also took the crew member addicted to the lotus back to the ship. Without a loyal leader, the crew would not want to do what Odysseus told them to do because they know he would not help them if they neede help. This is why people believe Odysseus should be considered an effective leader. The three reasons: he is a good fighter, he is authoritative, and he is loyal to his crew. Effective leader

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