Recommended: The leadership of Aeneid
Odysseus and I both have demonstrated leadership. After their fierce encounter with the cyclops, Odysseus lead the men away safely with minimum casualties and kept his wits. In the Odyssey, Odysseus said, “Old shipmates, friends, the rest of you stand by; I’ll make the crossing in my own ship, with my own company, and find out what the mainland natives are.” (898) Odysseus’s leadership kept his men together and their trust in him. He was one of the first ones off the ship to lead his men into the unknown land.
Douglas MacArthur once said “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others,” His saying points out that in order to be a true leader, they shall be confident and independent as well as courageous through difficult decisions and open-minded. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus shows all of these traits during his journey returning home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus as a human makes foolish mistakes, many important choices are made during his trip to Ithaca, he truly is longing for his return home and does whatever it takes whether it is good or bad. Odysseus shows elements of good leadership throughout book IX. In the beginning,
The Aeneid, as well as The Inferno, depict hell as a place where there are multiple levels and where sins are punished differently depending on the degree of severity, the evilest of sins receiving the worst punishments. Virgil like Dante portrays an afterlife in which people are awarded for their deeds. This kind of belief would have been prominent in a character like Aeneas, he would have believed that his deeds would have been justly rewarded in the afterlife. While he most likely did not have the same set of values and virtues that St. Augustine later had after his conversion he did live by a code of honor or a set of values that pertained to his time and culture. The virtue he possessed that motivated him to establish a new home in modern day Rome was one of honor, which was very important to ancient civilizations, both greek and Trojans alike.
Being a skilled leader tends to be a difficult task. A leader can acquire an abundance of favorable qualities, but it only takes one harmful trait to diminish them. These poor attributes separate the best leaders from the ones that cause wreckage towards their followers. The Odyssey by Homer showcases these difficulties in an epic about a leader, Odysseus, trying to find his way back to his home. After Odysseus fights in the Trojan War, he needs to travel back to Ithaca where his wife and son are waiting for him.
In Greek Mythology, there are many well-known and famous heroes, but none stands out like the quest hero Odysseus. Whether in the clutches of the Cyclops in his cave, his intellect on the island of Circe, or his care for his men as they sailed past the Sirens, Odysseus bravely led his men through it all. In these stories, many traits and values are recommended. These stories seem to value the leadership qualities of strength, courage, thirst for glory, confidence in authority, thoughtfulness, and intellectualness because a good leader like Odysseus needs to care for his men while making the right decisions whether they are tough or not for the well being of his crew.
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.
Leadership is one of the most significant or valued qualities an individual can have because of the effect it can have on many others. The protagonist, Odysseus, displays many of his qualities and traits, such as intelligence, strength, and will. In the story “The Odyssey”, or also known as the long journey of Odysseus, Homer emphasizes the character traits and how Odysseus reacts going against conflicts. He does this by illustrating the disputes, problems, and the ideas of how Odysseus finds his way back home to his hometown, Ithaca. Odysseus is a heroic leader who is intelligent, stubborn, and powerful.
One “choice” Aeneas “makes” is to not only cut off his budding relationship with Dido, whom he allegedly loves and respects, but then cooly dismisses their marriage and heads off to found Rome; their relationship symbolizes the opposing forces of pietas and furor, as well as the Grecian concepts of fate and eros. So, Dido seems to be the personification of furor (acting selfishly, on impulse or out of anger; acting without thinking, often through fury or violence) – and therefore the opposite of pious, calm Aeneas. It’s important to consider that current modern, American ideas and perspective are vastly different from the Romans, who prized moderation, level-headedness, and a strong sense of duty and responsibility; so it’s easier for present-day audience to be more prone to side with Dido, because our society’s prioritized values drastically differ from the Romans’. However, Aeneas’ denial of the marriage seems cruel and immature, given that he 's spent the whole winter with Dido and knows how much she loves him. “Nor did I once extend a bridegroom’s torch or enter into a marriage pact with you.”
In the Bible and Virgil’s The Aeneid, the pursuit of honor and glory is complex, and it does not come without serious consequences and hardships. However, while Jesus and Aeneas both strive to achieve a certain goal due to divine intervention and both overcome certain adversities, their underlying motives and their ultimate outcomes are starkly different. Although it would appear that neither Jesus nor Aeneas would be motivated by personal fame or glory—as they were sent on godly missions, this is not the case in The Aeneid. Jesus acts completely selflessly as he teaches others about the Kingdom of God and how to live their lives, whereas Aeneas is working to win greatness for his ancestors as he was sent by the gods to settle and create an
Provided with Lessing's contra-reaction to Laocoön in his 1766 piece, appropriately subtitled "An Essay on the Limits of Painting and Poetry," emphasized the exceptionalism of each art attacking the foundation of Ut pictura poesis, considering poetry an art of the time, and paint an art of the space. For this reason, when disputing the comparison between the sculpture of Laocoön with Virgil's verse, Lessing explained that artists could not realistically illustrate the physical suffering of Laocoön and His Sons, because of its static description preferring the retention of beauty over the proper expression of pain through the one progression through time, confining itself to one moment and not pursuing a depiction of a narrative; taking visual
Madison McDonald Dr. Travis Montgomery ENGL 2213-02 16 March 2018 Violence in The Aeneid The Aeneid is bursting with violent acts from the beginning to the end. The main character, Aeneas, constantly faces conflict from both humans and gods. Aeneas is a Trojan hero and prince who embodies pietas, driven by duty, honor, and devotion, which makes him an example of an ideal Roman citizen. Aeneas was called by the gods and determined to be a successful founder of Rome, but he faced complications along the journey. In each conflict along the way, Aeneas dealt with fighting and violence and could not find peace until the end.
Aeneas being a decedent from Troy and thus is he seen as an associate of the royal house of Troy. In the Iliad Aeneas is an important warrior in the Trojan war. However, Aeneas most significant role is through Virgil’s Aeneid, where Virgil made the arrival and settlement of Aeneas in Italy the main theme in his story. Aeneas was born near to tear, on mount Ida, he was given to his father Archallis at the age of five. During the Trojan war he lead the troops of Dardanian, but still under Hectors demands.
From the conversion of England to the Renaissance, nothing seems to have impacted the medieval times more than religion. Starting with the conversion of England, you can see how important religion was and how much the conversion changed the societies back in the medieval period. The Crusades were also important because the Pope and the Church used the idea of penance to get believers to fight for them and try to reclaim the Holy Lands. While the different inquisitions in Europe may not have been as large or as gruesome as people believe they still changed many lives and caused the deaths of many people because of suspicion over their religious beliefs. Christianity also affected the arts throughout the medieval times including architecture and artwork dedicated to the Church.
In Homer’s ancient work The Iliad, there are many forces of leadership at work, both strong models and poor examples. The two focal leaders in The Iliad are Agamemnon and Achilles. Both these characters exemplify leadership, but in drastically different ways. Agamemnon is immediately recognized as an authority because of his political standing; he is the leader in all technical meanings of the word. However, on Achilles part, it is his character and actions that earn him the recognition of a leader.
The Aeneid was commissioned by Augustus, the first citizen of Rome. Augustus desired to restore Rome after a brutal civil war and advocated for a conservative standpoint. (Williams). Within the Aeneid, the praise of Augustus’ values does not merely alter the plot, but rather it is the plot. Primarily, the Aeneid is a story about the fate of Rome, not Aeneas himself.
