Odysseus As A Good Leader In The Odyssey By Homer

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The Odyssey, an epic written by Homer, describes the journey the hero Odysseus went on to find his way back to his wife, Penelope. It follows an episodic nature, describing scenario after scenario for that which he triumphs over, being described as a good leader. However, this is not the case. Odysseus is not the great leader he makes himself out to be throughout the story. He can in fact, be better described as a poor leader, being selfish, boastful, and careless. Odysseus illustrates himself as selfish, choosing to steal the humiliated cyclops’ sheep. Odysseus explains, “With many glances back, we rounded up his fat, stiff-legged sheep to take aboard, and drove them down to where the good ship lay”(The Cyclops. 463-465). Odysseus, adding …show more content…

Puny, am I, in a Caveman’s hands? How do you like the beating that we gave you, you damned cannibal? Eater of guests under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you!” (476-480) to which Polyphemus responded, “[heaving a boulder] after [them]” (482). As a result of Odysseus’ foolish judgement through his choice to boast, an entire ship full of men were killed by the boulder thrown. Odysseus can be described as careless when he fails to monitor his men and keep them from eating the cows of the Sun God. Odysseus describes himself as having fallen asleep, saying, “but they, for answer, only closed my eyes under the slow drops of sleep”(The Cattle of The Sun God. 877) to which his men meanwhile, “knifed the kine and flayed each carcass” (902-903). As a result of Odysseus’ careless for his men, the god, Zeus, killed every last one of them, leaving only Odysseus alive. Throughout the entirety of Homer’s, The Odyssey, Odysseus cannot be presented as an astounding leader, but rather on the contrary, he is easily illustrated as a foolish, poor leader, being selfish in nature, stealing from those who are already defeated, being foolishly boastful, boasting to an already humiliated opponent, and being blindly careless towards his loyal, trusting,

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