Leadership is a difficult quality to obtain. There are many characteristics that person needs to have in order to be considered a leader. Most important characteristics to have while in charge are intelligence, common sense, cautiousness, and bravery. Two leaders that are well-known in history are Maria Theresa of Austria and Odysseus, the main character in Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey. This epic poem has a main focus of leadership and it is a great piece of text to get the reader to ask questions and try to find out the characteristics that make a good leader. There are questions like were these people effective or ineffective along with who was the better leader. After research, it is undoubtedly so, that Maria Theresa was a greater leader than Odysseus. Though, Odysseus and Maria Theresa both showed tremendous amounts of wonderful qualities and achievements, they both still had their faults. Even with both leaders having their fair share of faults, it is the end results of their reigns that will be looked upon most to make judgements. There are questions about certain leaders on whether what they chose for the people they were ruling were logical …show more content…
Odysseus, king of Ithaca, had done nothing more than threaten his life and all of his men’s lives. With his selfish, sly, and sneaky self, he had killed everyone of his companions, and in the end, killed suitors as well. On the other hand, there was times where Odysseus was smart and effective. For example, saving his remaining three men from the cave by tying them to the sheep so the cyclops couldn't feel them when he let out his herd. Maria Theresa though, was consistent and normally effective. She tried to keep her empire from war and she was very canny on getting what she wanted. In the end, there are still questions and undiscovered evidence, but currently the better leader is Maria Theresa of