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Odysseus: Similarities Between A Hero And A Leader

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What differentiates a hero and a leader…is there a difference? In the Odyssey, the main character Odysseus resembles both qualities of the distinct concepts. Throughout the story, his heroism and leadership show themselves in different ways. A leader is one who brings many together to accomplish great things. A hero may be on their own to accomplish great things. Heroes overcome barriers and problems while leaders search for opportunity and adventure when problems face not for one, but for all. A hero is often celebrated for their bravery while a leader may be judged on their ability to make positive decisions and bring positive results. So no, the leader and hero Odysseus portray the distinct overlap of the qualities. As a hero, Odysseus plays the role perfectly. I say this because he is resourceful, fearless, and dashing from fighting off suitors in his own home to fighting giant monsters such as the Cyclops and Sirens. A hero is a person of nobility and courage. A hero performs to serve others in need. Odysseus portrays this when he saved his men from the Sirens in Book 12. The Sirens are creatures who lure sailors to death singing enchanting songs. Odysseus knew about this danger and ordered his men to plug their ears with beeswax “Plug your oarsmen’s ears with beeswax kneaded …show more content…

A leader reveals selflessness, passion, and motivation to followers. In Odyseuses case, it is his crew. A leader is a good influence who does the right thing. Odysseus demonstrates a leader in Book 9 when he led his men through the Cyclops Polyphemus's cave. He and his men were frightened although he remained calm and came up with a plan to outsmart the Cyclops saving not only himself but his men and working together to make it out. A leader communicates with others and their members. Throughout all of the dangerous situations, he communicates with his crew to lead them to safety and

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Odysseus and I have both shown leadership. In the Odyssey he was explaining to his men to tie him to the mast so he would not succumb to the sound of the sirens. Odysseus showed leadership by knowing he had to be available to lead his men, not under the spell of the Siren. Odysseus states “The lovely voices in ardor appealing over the water made me crave to listen, and I tried to say untie me!’ to the crew, jerking my brows; but the bent steady to the oars” (933).

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Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, however, what gives someone the title of a good or bad is decided by the decisions they make and how those decisions affect others. Odysseus led the squadron of soldiers in the trojan horse and is a hero of the Trojan War and the king of Ithaca. Consequently, this gives him experience when it comes acting in difficult situations. This experience should guide him to choose correctly when being put in a tight spot.

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There have been many great leaders in stories, but one of the greatest, would be Odysseus in The Odyssey. The Odyssey is an epic poem written by Homer. Through his actions during the Trojan War, and in the Cyclops’ island, Odysseus demonstrates the characteristics of a tremendous leader. The first way Odysseus shows that he is a good leader, is when he gets him and his crew out of the Cyclops cave. When him and his crew first enter the cave the Cyclops eats two of Odysseus’s men, so Odysseus has his crew ride the underside of some of the Cyclops herd’s.

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540 Words | 3 Pages

Although Odysseus made some mistakes overall he was a great leader. Besides that he did have quite an adventure. Odysseus was a great leader when he showed bravery when saving his men from the cyclops, when he showed loyalty when saving his men from Circe, and also when he showed leadership when going to the Underworld. The first challenge Odysseus came across was Polyphemus, the cyclops.

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606 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the course of history, the world has seen many leaders. Some of which are good leaders, and others bad. In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, he tells of a epic hero named Odysseus. Based on his actions and the definition of what makes a good leader, Odysseus is shown as a good leader. Odysseus is a good leader because of his influence on his men and his collaboration.

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769 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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478 Words | 2 Pages

Being a good leader is important, caring for those being lead is important. The odyssey is a story by Robert Fitzigerald is were the main character odysseus battles mystical creatures and faces the wrath of the gods, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus stave off suitors vying for Penelope's hand and Ithaca's throne long enough for Odysseus to return. Odysseus is not a good leader because his lack of loyalty to his men and his hubris. Odysseus is not a good leader because hes not loyal to his men and he would leave them behind. Odysseus wants to go to a cave but he would have to leave his men behind, his mean give him lots of ideas so Odysseus does not leave them behind, but odysseus is selfish and leave them anyway.

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571 Words | 3 Pages

Odysseus is a good leader in that he uses his wits to get his men out of trouble. As Odysseus and his men prepare to face Kharybdis and Skylla, his men are nervous, so Odysseus reminds them “‘Have we never been in danger before this? More fearsome, is it now, than when the kyklopes penned us in his cave? What power we had! Did I not keep my

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A good leader must be able to contribute something to their team. Odysseus contributes his outstanding smarts and quick thinking to guide his

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651 Words | 3 Pages

When thinking about stories we think about adventures in other worlds or tales that teach a lesson in the end, just as you originally thought, The Odyssey writer Homer, an ancient Greek poet, wrote the adventures of the legendary Odysseus who was a courageous hero that faced any challenge in front of him. One thing Homer believes but not directly is that Odysseus is a great example of a true leader. Odysseus proved he was a good leader in many occasions most importantly him always taking his responsibilities as a leader seriously, him and his son, Telemachus, executing the ones who proved they don’t belong in the palace, and finally Odysseus helping his men escape the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus. One reason Odysseus shows great leadership is when he’s handed a task or a gift from a god or ruler and he gives it great thought and care.

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1177 Words | 5 Pages

However, examples within the literary narrative of the Odyssey leaves the discussion open with regards to his leadership. Thus, the question of leadership supersedes the topic of Arete. Was Odysseus the ideal leader or did he portray undesirable leadership tendencies? The examples that will presented will illustrate that Odysseus hubris, risk taking prowess, and at times unwillingness to follow instructions often placed his crew in danger as he journeyed Ithaca.

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500 Words | 2 Pages

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.

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761 Words | 4 Pages

Odysseus used bravery, cleverness, and determination to be a good leader and get his men through all these dangerous obstacles. Odysseus is a good leader as seen through his bravery, cleverness, and determination. Odysseus demonstrates good leadership through his use of bravery.

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620 Words | 3 Pages

Odysseus displays a strong act of leadership by doing whatever it takes to get done. Whether it's fighting Sirens or a cyclops Odysseus does whatever he could to get his men past the obstacle. In the text it states “I carried wax along the line and laid it in their ears.” (Homer 12.

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1044 Words | 5 Pages

The shift between a rural to an urban society or from an agrarian to an industrial society can be significantly marked with the age of the Industrial Revolution. Taking place between 1760-1860, this revolution was a time which gave rise to the power of machinery, factories and mass production, which would lead to the development of numerous inventions which would change their respective industries for the better. However, it is important to note how this significant shift from an agrarian to an urban society essentially had its roots in Great Britain, and exactly what inventions were prominent in leading Britain and the rest of the world to commercial industrialization. When it comes to understanding how the Industrial Revolution came about

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