Greek Values In Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

Odyssey Essay Did you know Odysseus let many of his men die in the Odyssey? Well, Odysseus is also known for his brave and heroic acts, but to further understand him, you have to know about his Greek Values. In the Odyssey, Odysseus’ strength and weaknesses of leadership, intelligence, and his selfishness. This reflects the Greek Values of leading others to success, and accomplishment, outsmarting others, and caring for others. In the Odyssey by Homer, one heroic trait that Odysseus shows his preeminence which articulates the Greek cultural value of leading your men to victory. For example, the theme is made apparent when Odysseus visualizes “Bow to stem, trying to put heart into them, standing over every oarsmen, gently” (782, book 12). This shows that Odysseus knows his men can overcome the fear of dying and can save themselves. This is important because Odysseus’ trait is guidance and he strongly portrays that. Another example is when Odysseus, and his men are yet again on the threshold of demise by a whirlpool Heavyweight named Charybdis. Odysseus motivates his men once again that if they want to live, they have to keep rowing to escape Charybdis (783, book 12). This portrays Odysseus’ leadership by showing his men pep talk for survival. This more deeply illustrates Odysseus trait of leadership because he and his crew do not want to die

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