Park Jisu
Mr. Springs
World Classics 1
11. January. 2023
The Odyssey: A Masterclass in Leadership
The epic poem “The Odyssey” by Homer tells the story of Odysseus and his journey home after the victory in the war of Troy. Along the way, Odysseus and his crew face various challenges and events. In the challenges, Odysseus makes decisions that demonstrate the qualities of a strong leader, and through his actions and decisions, the poem teaches valuable lessons about leadership.
One of the most important lessons that Odyssey teaches about leadership is self-control. In “The Odyssey,” Odysseus and his crew face many temptations and distractions that could have delayed his journey home. As an example, when Odysseus and his men landed on the island where people lived on
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When Odysseus and his men are trapped in the cave of Polyphemus the Cyclops, Odysseus designs a clever plan to blind Polyphemus and escape the cave by hanging under the bellies of the Cyclops’ sheep. While they were trapped in the cave of the Cyclops and were about to be killed, Odysseus introduces himself as “noman” which later fools Polyphemus’s friends who came to help Polyphemus who was crying in pain from losing his eyes, as a result, escapes the cave safely. Another example is when Odysseus’s men were enchanted by Circe, “a beautiful, dreadful goddess who speaks in human languages.” (Book 10 lines 136) “But I said, ‘Circe, no! What decent man could bear to taste his food or sip his wine before he saw his men with his own eyes, and set them free? If you are so insistent on telling me to eat and drink, then free them, so I may see with my own eyes my crew of loyal men.’.”(Book 10 lines 382~388) While in danger of becoming a pig, Odysseus used his wisdom to not only guarantee his own safety and bring his crew back to the form of humans but as well as receiving advice on their journey
Also, when being a leader, Odysseus must display appropriate conduct for and during the situation that is presented before him, for the people he is leading to follow. While Odysseus is leading his crew, he also displays that he and his men are
When Odysseus and his men explore the cave of Polyphemus his men beg him to just steal some cheese and leave, but Odysseus refused to listen, telling the Phaeacians that he “would not give way- and how much better it would have been-not till I saw him, saw what gifts he’d give”(9.256-258). His selfish refusal causes the death of many members of his crew, a choice no traditional hero would have made. While Odysseus and his crew flee from the island, Odysseus foolishly tells Polyphemus “If any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you...say Odysseus….gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!”(9.559-562). While a true hero would act as a servant to his crew and put them first, Odysseus acts as a blind servant to his pride putting only his arrogance above his own self preservation. Odysseus stays on the island of Aeaea with Circe “day in, day out, till a year had run its course”(10.515).
In tough times, do you follow the leader’s commands, or do you follow your own instinct and make your own decisions? This can be a difficult decision, especially if you disagree with the leader. The epic poem, The Odyssey, created in the 8th century BCE by Homer, follows the journey of Odysseus and his crew traveling to their home, Ithaca, after the Trojan War. Throughout the story, Odysseus and his crew meet new people and face danger. The actions of Odysseus and his crew sometimes result in the death of the crew.
Some things that characterize successful male leadership in The Odyssey are determination and good relationships. Odysseus demonstrates his determination when his men release the winds when Ithaca was in sight on his journey home. “They screamed and I woke up, / and wondered if I should jump off the ship / and drown , or bite my lip, be stoical, / and stay among the living. I endured it, / covered my face, and lay on the deck.”
Along the journey home, Odysseus and his men are presented with many situations that act as tests of their personal character and self-control. Whether it is the temptation of revelry, the ability to escape their worries, or gluttony, the men must choose between their own selfish desires or resistance for the communal good. The crew’s success or failure in giving in to their temptations depends upon their possession of certain characteristics. Throughout Homer’s Odyssey, the failure of Odysseus’s men to recognize their lack of self-control due to foolishness results in them bringing misfortune upon themselves and ultimately their community while their king and commander, Odysseus, successfully displays how to avoid this lack of self-control
Webster Dictionary defines leadership as simply, “providing direction or guidance,” but to be a successful leader one must focus on completing a goal in a way that is beneficial for the majority, not only the one in charge. This can be achieved by utilitarianism, which is doing of what is best for the most number of people, and carrying out actions that lead to positive effects, instead of merely being done with good intentions. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is not an exemplary leader because he went against utilitarianism by not being honest with his men, letting his arrogance control his behavior, and by killing many people in his house without a fair trial. Firstly, a leader must be truthful with those he works with in order for no errors or confusion to occur as a result of information being hidden. In The Odyssey, not being truthful lead to negative consequences for everyone on Odysseus’ ship, and thus contradicted the principle of utilitarianism stating that actions must lead to positive effects.
Although Odysseus occasionally does something for the short-term benefit of his crew, he does not deserve their loyalty because he does not sincerely care about them, trust them, or listen to them. Even when Odysseus is in the middle of nowhere in a boat with his comrades and crew members for twenty years, he still manages to not care about them and think of his own life as more valuable than any of theirs. An example of this is when Odysseus sends his men into danger instead of being a leader and going first: “All I spied was a plume of smoke, drifting off the land. / So I sent some crew ahead to learn who lived there -- / men like us perhaps, who live on bread?”
When Odysseus commands his men to go back to sea to voyage, he is a good leader because he is telling his men what to do. He is being a leader by protecting his men from the Ciccone 's army by leaving before reinforcements come. For example, when Odysseus and his men are heading to the sirens Odysseus states “you are to tie me up, tight as a splint” (Homer 1005). Odysseus is an admirable leader when he orders his men to tie him up and do not untie him because he is sacrificing himself for the good of his men. He is a leader when he does this because he lets his men not suffer the sirens while he has to.
The odyssey, an epic told by Homer in ancient greece, has many major themes following odysseus’s adventures. While Odysseus is sentenced to never return home after the Trojan War. He is overcoming challenges to return home to his wife penelope and his son Telemachus. Throughout the story major themes of loyalty, hospitality and vengeance are hidden within the plot. The story continues to show his heroic side with three major traits.
Bravery, cleverness, and determination are three traits a good leader has. In Homer’s epic “The Odyssey,” Odysseus, the hero in the story, is trying to return home to Ithaca after his victory in Troy. On their way back home, Odysseus and his men hurt the cyclops, Polyphemus, and angered his father, Poseidon. With a god angry at them, Odysseus and his men had to overcome many obstacles. These obstacles led them to strange islands that had goddesses and dangerous creatures.
Although Odysseus in The Odyssey by Homer does not learn life lessons easily and constantly puts himself and others in danger, the challenges that come his way helps him
Aadarshini Vinod Das Kisatsky English 1 Honors 17 February 2023 “The Failure of Odysseus” The Odyssey by Homer explores Greek culture. It shows how following Greek culture and beliefs properly will lead to prosperity and happiness, but if a human chooses to live without the Greek values, he would suffer greatly. Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, learns this bitter truth as he faces many unnecessary dangers on his way home from the Trojan War because of his abundant pride. Those dangers cause him to suffer the loss of all his soldiers and his ships.
Odysseus and his men had travel to the island of the Lotus eaters when he drove “... them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest: “ all hands a board; come, clear the beach and no one taste the Lotus or you lose your hope of home.” (Book 9, lines 48-52, textbook). Odysseus saved three of his man and brought them back to the ship, saving them from a long weary death. Odysseus also taught his remaining man a lesson and showed his men how clever he was in this dire situation. As Odysseus is fleeing from the Laestrygonians, he “...shouted rapid orders at my shipmates: ‘Put your backs in the oars- now row or die… my ship alone… we… escaped our death yet at heart for the dear companions we had lost.”
There are many lessons Odysseus and is men learn on their journey home in the Odyssey. Unfortunately, only Odysseus makes it home and the rest of men are dead because of their foolish actions. In the Thrinacia and The Cattle of the Sun episode of the Odyssey Odysseus’s men once again disobey him and cost them their lives. The men and Odysseus learn valuable lessons throughout their epic journey, but in the episode the most important lessons they learn are; temptation can lead to death, being obedient can save your life, and trust your instincts. If Odysseus’s men would have been more obedient to their leader Odysseus perhaps all of them would have made it back home alive.
When Odysseus and some of his crew stumble across Polyphemos’ cave, his crew suggests they take the goods from the cave and run. But Odysseus refuses and “‘wished to see the cavemen, what he had to offer- no pretty sight, it turned out, for my friends’”(151). As illustrated Odysseus refuses to listen to his crew’s advice, and as a result, several of them are eaten. Odysseus throughout the story shows several other instances of hubris, where he does what he wants regardless of the advice given to him by others. Ultimately his crew pays for his hubris, as they all die due to Odysseus’ refusal to listen to Kirke’s advice and avoid the island where Helios keeps his cattle.