“Going forward I carried wax along the line, and laid it thick on their ears”(Hom. Od. 10.115). There are many traits that form an amazing leader, including loyalty, protection, and wisdom. A fine commander is someone who can keep his or her word to a grouping of people and someone who is able to defend every each one of them. Odysseus, radiating with fearlessness and heroism, in The Odyssey written by Homer, is required to become the chief of a group of people that he will sail with back home to Ithaca. Odysseus is a strong captain because he is able to be loyal, protect, and think with wisdom whenever his crew falls into another one of Poseidon's traps. In today's society we occasionally may not see someone as a robust leader, but if we were able to connect the definition of a fine headman to every time that person was able to protect, be loyal, and think wisely, we would be able to think differently. Loyalty is a massive trait when it comes to leading. A superior chief must be able to keep his or her …show more content…
word and be faithful to his or her crew. Odysseus was loyal to his men when he went back to his crew on Circe’s island. The Odyssey states “Circe, where is a captain who could bear to touch this banquet, in my place? A decent man would see his company before him first”(Hom. Od. 10.90). In this quote Odysseus practically pleads to Circe to turn his crew back into normal people. Furthermore, in another part of The Odyssey it explains “I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, called the rest: ‘All hands aboard; come, clear the beach and no one taste the Lotus, or you lose your hope of home.’”(Hom. Od. 9.30-33). Here it explains how Odysseus grabbed the crewmates who devoured the Lotus plants and strapped them under their rowing seats not leaving a single one behind. With these two pieces of evidence Odysseus presents his loyalty and ability to keep his word and protect. Ultimately, this proves that he is a marvelous chief because he is able to be true to his crew. Another trait a sterling leader must have is the power to protect the crew. In every situation Odysseus and his crew sail into, Odysseus never leaves his crew to perish, but instead goes back and protects them from danger. In The Odyssey, Homer indicates, “Going forward I carried wax along the line, and laid it thick on their ears”(Hom. Od. 10.115). In this quote Odysseus and his crew are voyaging by an island of sirens who attract men with their voices. Homer explains that Odysseus lays the wax thick on the crew’s ears, sheltering them from being manipulated by the sirens. Moreover, in the film The Odyssey, Polyphemus traps the crew and Odysseus in his cave. As Polyphemus reaches out to eat a man, Odysseus impedes him and states “Don’t take my men, take me instead”(The Odyssey). The two quotes exemplify some of the many ways Odysseus is able to shield his crew. Someone who can guard and care for his or her crew is a strong leader because without protection, is someone who doesn’t care, which makes them a terrible leader. A final major trait a magnificent premier must have is wisdom.
Wisdom is the key to survival and life. In the The Odyssey Homer writes, “I had touched the spot when sudden fear stayed me: If I killed him we perish there as well, for we could never move his ponderous doorway slab aside”(Hom. Od. 9.205). This explains how Odysseus first wanted to kill Polyphemus, but with his wisdom, Odysseus discovered that if he killed Polyphemus his crew would be trapped and eventually wither away. Additionally, in the film The Odyssey, Polyphemus asks Odysseus what his name is, to which Odysseus’ response is “My name is Nohbdy”(The Odyssey). Here Odysseus’ wisdom leads to the survival of his crew. Thus Polyphemus moves the slab to open the cave and when he attempts to call out for help, no one responds due to the name Nohbdy which is basically hinting that nobody is hurting him. Odysseus saves his crew many times with his wisdom, essentially making him a first-rate
leader. In the end it all comes down to what a good leader is. A great leader must protect, think wisely, and be loyal to his or her crew. Odysseus, full of bravery and courage, is loyal, protective, and thinks wisely to substantially give the longest life to his crew. Now in a knowledgeable view we see Odysseus as a brilliant headman who is able to achieve all of the traits a remarkable captain has. Today we see many fine leaders who do not seem well fit for a position, but if we were to take apart everything he or she has done, we would find that there are many more superb leaders than we expect. Next time you see someone as a horrid leader think twice before you make a final decision.
Although some could possibly call Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s The Odyssey, a great leader, the fact that he fails to earn his men’s respect, endangers his men’s lives repeatedly and allows them to die due to his own selfishness states otherwise.
These two heroes have embarked from the same destination but on very different journeys. Whilst they are both Iliadic heroes at the start of their stories, they develop and adapt their manner towards the characteristics required of them to succeed. Before we judge them, it is necessary to determine our definition of a successful leader. A hero from the Iliad must be "a speaker of words and one who is accomplished in action", according to the horseman Phoinix (Iliad.9.413). A leader must have these primary qualities then, as he must lead by example, but to create the ideal we must add to this. The leader should rely on no others but in turn listen to sound counsel. He should be fair in his justice, in control of his situation and surroundings, keep his men abreast of the plan of action and reasoning behind it, remain calm under pressure and have compassion and understanding for his people. Thus his primary concerns should be the welfare of his people, their security and maintaining peace at all costs. His men, a good indicator of his leadership to us, should therefore give him loyalty, trust, and obedience, if the leader has led them suitably. The performance of the men is also important, and what they achieve under his direction is representative of his strength of leadership, though this must be compared with how they act without his presence. These measures can be seen as the important assets of a competent leader, though extenuating and uncontrollable circumstances must be taken into account, as we make a sound judgement of our two heroes.
Would you rather have a selfless leader who will try his best to help you and keep you alive or a selfish, ignorant leader who thinks he can get whatever he wants? You would choose the selfless leader because who would want. Someone who is selfish and that exactly what Odysseus is. In Homer’s The Odyssey, there is a very bad leader, Odysseus. Odysseus does many things to make himself a bad leader. He doesn’t tell his men many things, he isn’t respectful to the gods or his wife, and he is constantly putting his men in danger just so he can go home. Odysseus is a selfish leader and only thinks about himself. Although he may have good intentions for himself by going home to see his family and the rest of his kingdom, he is a bad leader.
One may wonder exactly what it is that qualities a strong leader possesses. A strong leader is determined, and strong willed. They must be of good judgment, and without bias. They cannot easily be persuaded, and they are firm, yet at the same time, a good lead must also empathize with his subordinates, and have the best interest at heart for said subordinates, at all times. However, with that being said, a good leader cannot be afraid to discipline his subordinates when necessary. Unmistakably, being a leader is a very difficult feat – one which not everyone can accomplish. A leader must be an authority, a friend and a counsellor, all at once. They must be responsible, and always take into account the disadvantages of a situation. Not everyone is suitable to be a leader, whereas, just about anybody can be a good role model.
Odysseus is a bad leader for the traits he upheld in the book which causes him twenty years to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan war. The three traits that makes Odysseus a bad leader are being dishonest, prideful, and careless. These traits causes his men to die, him suffering, and trouble. The trait of Odysseus being dishonest is a factor of why Odysseus is a bad leader. Odysseus is meeting with Tiresias (a blind prophet) to learn his future. In the future, Odysseus will be presented with two obstacles, going through Scylla (6 headed monster) or Charybdis (a giant whirlpool). Tiresias tells Odysseus to pick the path of Scylla, his exact words were “to have passed her without loss and grief; she takes from every ship, one man for every gullet.” Tiresias is telling Odysseus to choose the path of Scylla because that path will only result in
To begin, one feature that makes Odysseus and epic hero is his intelligence. In order for him to have survived through his journey, he has to have a massive amount of intellect. To have survived a Cyclops is an accomplishment of its own. His ability to think on his feet and to plan situations and ability to make a right decision in horrid environments has helped him survive throughout his disastrous journey. When he is trapped by the Cyclops, Polyphemus, he has to carve, smooth, and sharpen a gigantic spear-shaped-pole out of a large tree that he and his strongest men would then use it on the Cyclops to blind it. In order to follow through with his plan, Odysseus has to sedate him. He gives Polyphemus an extremely strong wine, in which Polyphemus asks him his name. Odysseus replies: “My name is Nohbdy; mother, father, friends, everyone call me Nohbdy”(9.274-9.275) When the Cyclops passes out, Odysseus and four of his strongest men stab Polyphemus in his eye with the sharpened pole that he and his men ...
The poem The Odyssey by Homer describes the journey home of the soldier named Odysseus. Throughout Odysseus’ journey home, he demonstrates how he is not a good role model on multiple occasions. This include blinding a Cyclops, the son of Poseidon. Another example is sleeping with a witch that had just cursed all of his crew. Odysseus also lies to everybody including his family. There are many other instances of Odysseus making poor choices and not being a good role model.
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
To begin with, Odysseus is an intelligent and clever man. He is a hero because he has the capacity to understand the situations and think through the struggles they are going to face. Odysseus is put against all the odds possible, and at times it seems like the gods are against him. Odysseus tricks the Cyclops, Polyphemus, in a very strategic way and handled the situation effectively. “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, / everyone calls me Nohbdy (Homer 498). Odysseus’ cleverness is brought out because he conceived an idea that would be adequate enough to trick a Cyclops. Later when Polyphemus is stabbed, he screams, “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked
A hero is someone people want their kids to look up to. A hero is a role model. In order to become a hero you must have the necessary honorable character traits. Some of these traits would be humility, respectfulness, and loyalty. Though Odysseus is liked by many, he has many flaws which prove he is not a hero.
Leaders show up in infinitely varying circumstances and characters. Typically, each individual has a picture of who they see as a perfect leader, but no leader is perfect for everyone. Different circumstances and different people require different character traits and styles for their leaders to be effective. The coach of a high school football team is not going to have the same character traits or leadership style as a kindergarten teacher. Not only is the scope of a leader’s character limited in the minds of individuals, but the circumstances in which a leader is needed, or in which a good leader could be found, is typically a narrow field in the minds of individuals. When good leaders come to mind, they are often pictured as outgoing, authority-demanding,
The first heroic characteristic of Odysseus is his cleverness. In The Odyssey, one of the instances where Odysseus displays cleverness is in his encounter with the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Polyphemus captures Odysseus and his men in the island Cyclopes, which was filled with other giants. Although it is expected among the Greeks to display hospitality to strangers, Polyphemus ends up eating some of Odysseus men. In order to escape the giant, Odysseus comes up with a clever plan. He offers Polyphemus wine in order to get the giant drunk. When the giant falls asleep, Odysseus stabs Polyphemus’ singular eye, blinding the giant. The giant naturally wakes up, and starts to try and recapture Odysseus and his men. Knowing that the giant’s shouting would most likely attract the attention of the other giants in the island, Odysseus replies to Polyphemus when the giant asks him his name that his name was “Noman.” But when Polyphemus shouts for help, none of the other giants come to his aid, since he is shouting “My friends, N...
Great leaders are few and far between, but everyone possesses the power to be a good leader. I have only been in the military for about three and a half years; most of this time has been spent at CMR St-Jean and RMCC. I have yet to be put into any major leadership roles, but from what I have been able to accomplish in regards to leading others and the leaders that I have been able observe over the last few years, I have started to slowly figure out what type of leader I would like to become. According to Johns and Saks (2014) leadership is, “The influence that particular individuals exert on the goal achievement of others in an organizational context” (206). From past experience, influencing others to do something can be complicated at times but can be accomplished by staying focused on the task at hand. The leadership roles I have been able to take part in have brought me to the conclusion that cohesion is the core factor of how I lead.
Undoubtedly, it is best to learn leadership from those who have been leading the longest. Accordingly, generals, who have lead the forces of mankind since the conception of war are the best examples when it comes to leadership. Generalship is the skill or practice of exercising military command. Good generalship, then, is vital for any leader because good generals can inspire feelings of trust and loyalty in their followers. Sun Tzu summed it up by saying, “Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!” Unfortunately, talent with people is often not enough. Thus, “He who wishes to fight must first count the cost. When
The epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer is the the journey of a hero back home. It appears as if Odysseus is not at all an effective leader as he is the blamed for the death of his men. However his men’s ignorance and disobedience is what killed them and it does not reflect on his leadership. This story displays the different attributes of an effective leader which is important to learn for everyday life. Odysseus is mostly an effective leader as he is strategic and usually cautious.