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The value of loyalty in the odyssey
The value of loyalty in the odyssey
The importance of trust and loyalty
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More handpicked essays just for you.
The value of loyalty in the odyssey
The value of loyalty in the odyssey
The importance of trust and loyalty
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is an effective leader in chapter twelve. A leader who has too much pride is now showing too much humbleness for what’s important by following all the things he has told to do to save his crew and himself. He does what he is told to do to save his crew and keep them safe. “ But now, fearing death , all eyes fixed on Charybdis now Scylla snatched six men from our hollow ship, the toughest, strongest hands I had, and glancing backwards over the decks, searching or my crew I could see their hands and feet already hoisted, failing, high, higher, over my head, look wailing down at me, comrades riven in agony.
This text shows that Odysseus can be humble and accept that he needs to listen to survive and he alone can not keep his whole crew alive. Odysseus tends to use his own wit and skills to survive not needing others help, but sometimes he does need to take others advice to
As a leader Odysseus should be careful to do exactly what will benefit his crew the most. The lack of communication throughout the whole journey home will eventually lead to mistrust and betrayal of Odysseus by his crew. Following Scylla and Charybdis they reach the island of the god of the sun, and because of the crew’s spite for Odysseus they don’t follow his directions not to harm the cattle of the Sun. Just in the events of the journey back to Ithaca alone the reader can see how Odysseus’ inability to be a strong leader leads to the dismantling of a good relationship between him and his crew, which leads to a much more difficult trip. Odysseus’ inability to be a great leader for the group leads to a lot of conflict among the crew members.
In the epic, The Odyssey, the epic hero in the story exhibits heroic traits, the most important I think is loyalty. In the first episode, it shows loyalty when they are at the land of the Lotus Eaters. The three men that Odysseus brings along, want to stay with the Lotus Eaters because they are so addicted to the drug. Odysseus must literally drag the men to the ship and tie them up for them to be able to not stay on the island of the Lotus Eaters.
Can dishonesty be valuable if it was used to achieve desirable outcomes? Is lying considered justified if it was involved in a dangerous situation? It is not always bad to lie. As children, we were continuously taught to be honest. We have grown to be implanted with the fact that lying is unacceptable but admissible.
On the 10th our own land hove into sight… but now an enticing sleep came onto me, bone weary from working the vessels sheet myself, not let up never testing the ropes to any other male…” (book 10, page 156, PDF). Odysseus’ pride made him a self-centered leader, and he didn’t allow his men to contribute to their returning of home. Odysseus was too full of pride to allow anyone else to take credit for his doing of bringing all of his men back home, which eventually caused his men to betray him. Odysseus was very boastful, and a man full of extreme pride. From this we can grasp that he had an elaborate way of trying to achieve his goals, which usually involved only him and not allowing anyone else to contribute to his actions and
At various times throughout the story, mainly through the trials, Odysseus made many decisions and forced his crew to go through many potentially lethal situations without preparing his own crew, or situations that were just a waste of time. This then leads to not only all of his crew being killed but the creation of many bad relationships. The first example of Odysseus mistreating his crew is when he and his crew went through the trails, “No more. Come, / let me tell you about the voyage fraught with hardship / Zeus inflicted on me, homeward bound from Troy...” 9.42-44.
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.
During these situations, Odysseus gains leadership and tactical skills from fighting in the war in Troy, which costs him 10 years of his life and another 10 years of sailing out on the sea from Poseidon 's curse. Odysseus is therefore a heroic and efficient leader because he plans his moves ahead of time and is vigilant at all times to ensure his safety. Yet, though Odysseus possesses these heroic leadership qualities, his arrogance sometimes leads to his downfall and inability to lead. While Odysseus is a little arrogant, he can also be a great leader because he is able to trust his second in command, Eurylochus, and give him more power while he is away. When Odysseus is away from Circe’s island, Odysseus has a change of heart and suddenly wants to go back to Circe’s island to retrieve his crew.
I wouldn’t let any of my crew / Spell me, because I wanted to make good time.” His poor decision of not telling the crew about the winds, and insisting to sail by himself is another byproduct of his pride. This scene can be directly contrasted to his journey from Phaeacia to Ithaca, as he finally trusts his crew and reaches home peacefully. The significance of this incident very much fortifies the obstacles and predicaments that Odysseus faces on his way home, as well as unmasking the impurities in the character of
What is the definition of a good person? The view of a good person changes as time goes on. However, the Odyssey is still the foundation of human morality. The Odyssey, created by Homer, is an ancient telling of a man named Odysseus and his journey home from the Trojan War. The morals found in the Odyssey show readers the benefit of being able to view situations from multiple points of view.
While those who are loyal to Odysseus are rewarded, those who are unloyal receive severe punishment. Because Odysseus’ men are unloyal to him, they face
Ultimately Odysseus can be a good leader but behind the scenes, he's not. He may of saved his men multiple times, but also got them killed them due to his neglect. He might be intelligent but really he tolerably manipulated his crew by saying things such as “don’t you want to go back to your home again?”. In closing, throughout the whole story, Odysseus progresses himself and designates many Greek
Also, to dramatize the situation and emphasize the morality of the crew, Homer says "[the crew] put their backs in the oars, escape grim death." This passage shows how, while Homer considers Odysseus heroic, Odysseus may not follow expectations because of his pride and willingness to endanger his men. In this passage, Odysseus continually taunts Polyphemus' against his crew's wishes, and thus risks their lives. However, throughout the reading, Odysseus' claims to have great affection for his crew and wishes to protect them; thus, Odysseus' actions in this scene highlight an inconsistency in Odysseus' character and heroic nature. Because of this inconsistency and Odysseus’ prideful and
None of Odysseus’s men were really loyal to him because of their lack of obedience and honesty. In this episode the men learn that their disobedience causes them their lives when Helios the sun god realizes his scared cattle had been killed. Helios furious goes to Zeus and begs him to punish Odysseus’s men, or he will take the sun and go “down to the House of Death and blaze the sun among the dead” (Odyssey 12. 412). Zeus with no choice left but to punish Odysseus’s men whips up a storm and strikes his thunder bolt to destroy Odysseus’s ship soon after they leave the island. No one survives but Odysseus.