King Odysseus Arete In Homer's Odyssey

The impact of literary narratives on cultural norms such as social practices, beliefs, language, customs, community values, rules, cannot be understated; the arts do influence culture in both positive and negative ways. The cultural pathos and ethos of a culture are often seen reflected in literary narratives as expressions of the sentiment of approval or disapproval. This is not a new phenomenon and can be observed in cultures throughout human history. For example, in Homer’s Odyssey, there are certain characters within the narrative that portray what is known as “arete,” which is the display of perseverance, quick-wittedness, prowess, valor, etc. The term arete was very prominent and influential in early Greek culture and philosophy and was known to be very instrumental in shaping many of its particularly military leaders, i.e., Alexander the Great. Thus, the literary narratives such
However, the nature of this paper is to offer a counter-perspective of the assertion that King Odysseus was a great leader. The fact that he displays a certain level of arete and virtue in the Odyssey is unquestionable. However, the portrait of Odysseus as a good leader is questionable and there is ample evidence within the narrative that is illustrative of his humanness but more accurately his poor leadership. Prior to detailing a case against Odysseus, it is necessary to have a clear understanding and meaning of the word arete.
The word arete gets its meaning from the root word aristos. The philosopher Aristotle used the word virtue in his description of arete, and it was Plato who made the distinction between the arete of animals compared to arete of human beings. Arete has a broad scope a but can be observed in these three areas of life: achieving one’s full potential, effort-striving to be the best person one can be, and being the best possible person over the course of one’s life. The English word virtue in