Odyssey And Vergil's The Aeneid: An Analysis

“The price of greatness is responsibility.” Winston Churchill, was arguably one of the best leaders of the 20th century. As the Prime Minister of Britain during the course of World War II, he led the Bits through the war, then went on to win a Nobel Prize, and become knighted by the Queen. What made Churchill such a great leader? Churchill was an honest man, was brave enough to make decisions, and was persistent in all he did. When studying the literature of Sophocles Oedipus Rex, as well as Vergil’s, The Aeneid, we are presented with two leaders. Sophocles presents us with Oedipus, king of Thebes, and Vergil gives us Aeneas, founder of Rome. However, it is called to question how well these men performed as leaders, if they, like Churchill, were honest, decisive and persistent. Honesty is a very necessary quality for a leader to possess. How can people follow a leader that they cannot themselves trust? Winston Churchill understood this, which is why he was very transparent in his actions. During

Winston Churchill was one of the best leaders of the modern age. Churchill was honest in his actions, quick and knowledgeable in his decision, and persistent in all he did. These qualities made him an effective leader. The same comes true for Aeneas. Aeneas was honest and followed through on his promise to found Rome, decisive when it came time to kill king Turnus and persistent in following the destiny he was called for, thus being effective in his leadership. Oedipus, however, was an ineffective leader compared to Churchill and Aeneas. He was honest to his people, but was rash in his decisions, and persistent in a negative way in front of his followers. Churchill led his country to victory in World War II, and Aeneas founded one of the greatest civilizations in all history. Oedipus was exiled from Thebes, and lived out his life as an old blind man., while Aeneas found greatness in his responsibility as an effective