Hailey Smith
Mrs. Wilczewski
Honors English 1-2. 4
4 May 2018
The Odyssey What makes a great leader? Is it determination, Intelligence, power, or maybe even Empathy. In the book The odyssey by Homer, a leader that goes by the name of Odysseus is all four. The Odyssey is about Odysseus’s 10 year struggle to return back home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. During his adventure he battles multiple mythical creatures and even faces the gods. Odysseus’s main goal was to return home to both his wife and child. During this trip Odysseus was a great leader who protected his men and strives to bring them back home to their families. Some examples of this was when Odysseus makes the decision to give himself to warfare for his country, and go to war
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Before his men left to fight in the Trojan war, Odysseus unselfishly gives himself to warfare for his country to fight against the greeks and to protect his kingdom. Leaving behind his wife, son, home, and his personal life. In the book The Odyssey it states “ If I pull away from pitiless death, friendship will bond us, through my land lies far. My home is on the peaked sea-mark of Ithaca under Mount Neions wind-blown robe of leaves” (Homer 896). By this quote you can tell by the way that he describes Ithaca and his home, that he wishes to return …show more content…
This is shown when some of his men eat the lotus fruit and no longer wish to return home, Odysseus refuses to leave the island without them. He goes to shore, finds them, and makes them to return to the ship, physically forcing them. He knows in their hearts that they want to return to their families in Ithaca as much as he does, and so he refuses to listen to their protests. In the book The Odyssey it states “ Offering the sweet Lotus to our friends, but those who ate this honeyed plant, never cared to report, nor to return. I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under the rowing benches, and called the rest” (Homer 898). This shows that no matter what situation his men got into, he knows that in their hearts, they want to return back to Ithaca, and reunite with their families as much as he
Another way Odysseus shows loyalty is with the lotus eaters. All his men fell for the temptation of the lotus eaters. His men became addicted to the lotus and forgot
Odysseus is strong, loyal and brave. Odysseus is referred as being strong and hard working. He is the friend you'd want to call for help to finish all the tasks you need to finish. Odysseus is strong and hard-working, but above it, he is the hardest working for anyone else. Odysseus has never ordered his men to do something he won't or can't do. He manages to constantly challenge himself more than his men. Odysseus is a born leader based on all of his qualities. He isn't ruling his men around him because he wants power. Odysseus was born to become a great leader and have control and powered. He is not a lazy slacker who is bossing his servants around; instead, he is next to the building and cutting on whatever task needs to occur to complete his ship. Eurylochos could have complained about overworking and not having time to relax, but Eurylochos recognizes Odysseus work ethic and respects him for
In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus’ heroic deeds are recounted through a narrative, written by Homer, that describes his arduous journey of his return from the Trojan war to his homeland of Ithaca. Loyalty, patience, and determination, are necessary traits to survive the perilous, painstaking journey that Odysseus embarks upon to return to his native land. Loyalty is exhibited when Odysseus goes to rescue his crewmen on Kirke’s Island despite the probability of jeopardizing his own life. Odysseus presents patience throughout the entirety of his journey, but most specifically when his crew opens the bag of wind, which causes much regression on the embark homeward. Determination is displayed when Odysseus is on Calypso’s island.
Odysseus is a selfish leader who needed to stop and think about his decisions instead of acting on impulses, this could have saved the lives of many of his men.... ... middle of paper ... ... Another selfish act committed by Odysseus is when he was on the Island of the Kyklops and he risked his and his crew's life to explore the island just so he could see a kyklops.
In conclusion, Odysseus conveys the qualities of a true hero, He shows fortitude, bravery and he portrays qualities of management. Odysseus shows these qualities throughout the journey in which he faced many challenging people and places. However, Odysseus overcomes each and every one by having only one set goal: to get home. As long as he reached that goal, nothing could stop him. Like a true hero, Odysseus never lost these traits, no matter how bad of a mess he was in.
Homer’s The Odyssey, a magnificent story of lust, deceit, greed, and heroism, still fascinates scholars and casual readers alike today in the same way it fascinated its audience at the time it was written. The Odyssey, a journey of determination, patience, and virtue, tells the tail of Odysseus, the main character, on his voyage home to Ithaka after the end of the Trojan War. Odysseus goes through many unforeseen trials and tribulations, which exemplify his character. During these different happenings, Odysseus makes decisions that do not correspond to his character.
In Homer’s Odyssey Odysseus shows his yearning for adventure and that challenging himself brings him happiness through his actions not his thoughts. Even in the clutches of a raging cyclopes Odysseus’ accepts the challenge at hand and persevere through the loss of some of his men. “My name is Nohbdy,” he tells Polyphemus who is drunk from the liquor Odysseus had given him before. The giant “reeled and tumbled backward,”. He son fell asleep and the next stages of his plan fell into place. When the sharpened log was hot enough for his liking he and a few other men “bored that great eye socket,”(380). Instead of letting his men die while he cracked under the pressure Odysseus remained calm and allowed himself to think. Having achieved his goal of defeating the mighty cyclopes he rejoiced in his valiancy. Odysseus exuded happiness when most of his men got out alive. Odysseus’ habits of getting his men into seemingly inescapable predicaments continues on the island of Cersei. At the gate of the witch’s island his need for adventure takes the best of his judgement. Against the advice of Eurylochus Odysseus “rushes to save his men from the enchantress,” (387). Odysseus’ need for thrill and excitement draws him onto the island. He knows that he will suffer the same fate but makes a decision in the heat of the moment that could've made him unable to return home, but he wasn’t thinking of home, he purely wanted to get his men back. Throughout his journey Odysseus perfectly represents the bond between a man’s adventures and the challenges they bring to
Odysseus was an epic hero depicted in the Homer's The Odyssey. He responded to the call to travel to Troy to help Agamemnon get Helen. He encountered great confrontation along the way. He fought the Cicones, the Lotus Eaters, the Cyclops, Polyphemus, the Laestrygonians, the witch goddess Circe, the lonely Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis, the Sun, and Calypso. He and his men traveled great distances under severe circumstances. Odysseus answers a second call to return home to his family. He returns a more mature warrior and a wiser man. Because of this he is able to conquer the suitors and reclaim his palace and his family. As in all Greek literature, the epic hero Odysseus answers a call to action, suffers through great confrontation, and returns with a better understanding of life.
Through characters and situations, The Odyssey promotes and emphasizes many important ancient Greek values such as hospitality, pride, and fate. Stressed greatly in ancient Greek culture, hospitality is evident throughout Homer’s writing, which reflects and expresses many different value systems within it. For example, when in the cave of the Cyclops, Polyphemus, Odysseus confronts him by saying, “we therefore humbly pray to show us some hospitality and otherwise make us such presents as visitors may reasonably expect” (92). To the Greeks, hospitality was very important, to the point that it was an expectation and not just a quality, as it is in today’s culture. If you feared Zeus and the gods, you were to show hospitality.
Odysseus has gained a lot of knowledge from this journey. He becomes an epic hero and a great leader from his temptations and mistakes. The temptations and mistakes also helps Odysseus to gain knowledge. “Keep Ithaka always in your mind./ Arriving there is what you’re destined for./But don’t hurry the journey at all./Better if it goes on for years,/so
In The Odyssey, Odysseus's longing for his home and family is what drives the story. That is his one goal in the entire book, and that really states something about his character. In Book 5 we are first introduced to the character Odysseus. The strange thing is that he is weeping to himself when we first meet him. He is weeping because he pines for his family and home as stated in lines 327 and 328, 'Yet it is true, each day I long for home, long for the sight of home.'; As he plainly states, Odysseus greatly misses his home, and his tears show us just how much he misses it. In the duration of the story Odysseus has to make several sacrifices in order to get to the home he longs for so much. In Book 12, Circe foresees that Odysseus will have to let some of his men die. 'The Ithacans set off. But Odysseus never reveals to them Circe's last prophecy – that he will be the only survivor…'; This shows how much he's willing to do and...
This is shown in The Odyssey when Odysseus does not execute complete arbitrary power over his men, but instead has them swear an oath, “I made them swear they would only eat the provisions Circe had given us and never touch Helio’s cattle” (Hinds). However, his men are facing starvation under the lure of the cow meat, and not knowing how to stop them, Odysseus goes to pray to the gods. Unfortunately in his absence, his men succumb to temptation and make the wrong choice. Therefore after seeing their act he shows understanding because he realizes there was no way out of it, “I returned to the ship racking my brain for a way to set things right, but there was no use” (Hinds). From this Homer shows that although Odysseus should have stayed with his men he did his role as a leader by having them swear an oath to ignore their desire. Nevertheless, Homer still shows that similar to those in authority Odysseus has his flaws as well as his
Homer’s The Odyssey is a Greek story that follows the journey of its primary character, Odysseus, back to his home in Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus encounters many challenges in his journey home, from encounters with Polyphemus the Cyclops, the witch Circe and even the ghosts of dead Greeks. Meanwhile, his household in Ithaca is being threatened by suitors of his wife, Penelope, all wanting to inherit Odysseus’ possessions in the belief that he was already dead. Like many epic heroes, Odysseus possesses many admirable qualities. Three good characteristics of Odysseus are—cleverness, bravery and strength—here are some supporting instances from the epic that demonstrates Odysseus possession of such characteristics.
Throughout the book every time and after he conquers the new challenges Odysseus answers the question, which is repeated throughout, with a different answer. Each time he conquers a challenge on his journey home he learns a new lesson towards humility and answers with a new perspective. “‘I am no god,’ said the patient, good Odysseus. ‘Why do you take me for an immortal? But I am your father, on whose account you have endured so much sorrow and trouble and suffered persecution at men’s hand.’”(P 214 L 186-189) Although he is viewed by many people as very god-like Odysseus realizes that he is an ordinary man and is not a god. Odysseus’ desire to return home is another example that makes him an everyman. In this epic tale the word home had a double meaning for the hero. Home was where his family was and where he wanted to be. The physical element of being home and with his family was a huge deal for him. The other meaning of home was being safe and secure. His aspiration to return home and to return to his safety in sometimes shows that he is also a rather weak man. It is a human instinct to want to go home and stay safe instead of always being brave and
What is leadership, and how do we attain the best and most effective leaders? These are questions that are as old as civilization itself. Bass (1974) wrote that, “from its infancy, the study of history has been the study of leaders” (as cited in Wren, 1995, p. 50). Since the study of history in the West is commonly held to begin with Herodotus of ancient Athens, it is not surprising that we should examine the historical views of leadership through the eyes of two titans of Greek thought: Plato and Aristotle.