Odysseus is a strong leader. Odysseus is a strong leader shown by many characteristics. To prove he is a strong leader I will be using determined, intelligent and loyal characteristics.…
On the subject of heroism, Maya Angelou once wrote that “I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people” (Angelou). The general picture that comes to mind when the word “hero” is said is the idea of Superman or Wonder Woman; however, a true hero is anyone who tries to make their world a better place. Odysseus, the hero in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, fought in the Trojan War and embarked on a ten year journey to return to his kingdom, Ithaca. During his quest to return home, he encounters many supernatural forces that show both his heroic, and not so heroic actions. He faces countless challenges, meets new people, and has to make sacrifices for the overall benefit of his crew (Bowler and Homer 645-705).…
Being a well known hero, Odysseus is also a great leader to his men. His leadership helps him make decisions for himself and his men while being afloat on the sea. Using his leadership Odysseus tells his men, when they arrived to the Lotus Eaters, "All hands aboard; come, clear the beach and no one taste the Lotus, or you lose your hope of home." (lines 103-105) After passing the…
A legend to a great many people would be somebody who has strength and has gambled or yielded his life for others. To others a man that has found or accomplished something exceptional. In antiquated Greece a legend was viewed as a man frequently of heavenly family, celebrated for his courageous achievements and favored by the divine beings. In the epic "The Odyssey" Odysseus shows every one of the characteristics of a legend, for example, his intelliegence, quality, devotion, and strength.…
Odysseus played both the hero and villain role in The Odyssey; it all depends on whose perspective you see him through. Penelope saw her husband as a hero who fought hard to get back home to her. To Polyphemus, Odysseus was a villain who tricked him and blinded him. During the Trojan War he expressed an enormous amount of hero traits, but later in his journey, especially in books 9-12 his heroic behavior diminished.…
On the Cicones Island, even though he didn’t make much attempt to make his men leave and his lack of respect from his men was poor causing him to lose 36 men he still shared all the spoils out equally. Odysseus’s leadership was a lot better on Lotus-eater Island because he didn’t lose any of his men. Also his tactics were a lot better because he only sends three men to investigate the Island but when they ate the lotus flowers which put them into a forgetful trance, Odysseus actually went and physically forced them to leave. However when they came to the final island Odysseus and his 12 best men, which could be a bit risky taking them, found a cave full of sheep and milk and many more supplies, when they had enough to eat and drink, Odysseus’s men actually wanted to leave but Odysseus wanted to stay to see who the owner of this cave was, expecting they would show xenia. Unfortunately Polythemus the Cyclops didn’t, in fact he actually ate two of Odysseus’s men. However Odysseus quickly came up with a well thought plan to get out of there but when he did, he almost lost his ship because he shouted to the Cyclops,“ I’m Odysseus “ and as Polythemus heard this he through a massive boulder in there direction and it almost hit Odysseus’s ship…
odysseus was a warrior that fought for his land. he built it with his own strength and sweet. every thing he did was for his village and for the future of his family. he didn't like the idea of men coming to his home and disrespecting it.all those men were going crazy while he couldn't come home because poseidon was punishing him. they eat and drank all there food and treated bad the people of the village and the servants.also he didn't like that they didn't listen to what his wife was telling them, she wasn't going to marry no one because she knew he was going to come back.…
In “The Lotus-Eaters”, Odysseus’ men show temptation. They come upon an island with lotus plants and there are consequences for eating these plants. “. . . those who ate this honeyed plant, the Lotus, never cared to report, nor to return: they longed to stay forever, browsing on that native bloom, forgetful of their homeland.” Eating the lotus plants makes the men forget about all their troubles. Previous to this event, they endure ten years of searching for a way back to Ithaca. The sweet smell of the lotus, along with forgetting about their troubles, tempts Odysseus’ men into eating the plants. Odysseus eventually retrieves all his men, but this results in frustration because the men delay his journey home.…
Through every obstacle Odysseus and his sailors face, Odysseus shows courage and wisdom that surpasses his shipmates', but he also displays some of the same weaknesses they have. The sailors open the bag Odysseus received from Aeolus, who controls the wind, thinking that Aeolus had given him money. Instead, they release the winds and are blown off course. This act illustrates the greed of the sailors, but Odysseus also faults by his greed and arrogance on the island of the Cyclops. He wants so badly to have the honor of escaping the Cyclops that Odysseus stupidly shouts his name back to the Cyclops. As a result, the Cyclops becomes increasingly angry and almost kills them by throwing giant rocks into the sea beside them.…
The gods have played their part altering the course of the hero’s voyage. Seemingly, in the epic harmony does not last long and challenges follow Odysseus like a plague. Calypso, the audience believes holds the last installment of the global journey, our hero has yet more battles ahead of him. In fact, the king of Ithaca wandered the Mediterranean and its coastal lands for 10 years before finally arriving home. As waves crash against the raft, “he was seen sailing the ocean”(284). The sea near the land of the Phaeacians is only one region Odysseus has been driven to. All these occurs as a number of loyal citizens and a hopeful family await his return, a period when others dependence on him shines through. As Odysseus is under the angry waters…
Odysseus and crew are finally on their way home after the war, after nine days on the rough sea, they arrive at the isle of the lotus eaters. The lotus eaters are a group of people who have a lot of fun, thanks to their consumption of the lotus flower. This confrontation provides Odysseus and his crew with the first of their challenges (Odyssey 9:1-103). This threat is definitely one that a heroic confrontation is unlikely. This danger is not any physical threat to him or his men. The lotus eaters create a situation where Odysseus and his crew are tempted by a gift. This gift of immediate gratification threatens to take away several their basic heroic…
Initially, using his boundless bravery and extraordinary leadership instincts, Odysseus is able to spare several of his crew men’s lives from the monstrous Cyclops'. Although the Cyclops is a “mighty man” with great strength, Odysseus “[speaks] up in reply” to him because of his gallantry (Homer 152, 278-80). Odysseus knows that standing up for his men is the only way to protect them, he must be brave and demonstrates this by sacrificing himself to prevent the giant man-eating Cyclops from consuming his men. He “[drew] the sharp sword from [his] hip” and “[stabbed] him where the midriff holds the liver”, blinding the immense beast (154, 324-27). Odysseus’s bold decision to stab the Cyclops requires superior leadership, facing a giant individually…
The engrossing story, The Odyssey, tells the tale of the heroic Odysseus’ journey to reach home after the Trojan War. In the first four books, the reader learns about Odysseus through other characters eyes. They follow the footsteps of Telemakhos, the son of Odysseus, and his awakening to save his father. Telemakhos’s house is being overrun by his mother's’ suitors, however dear Penelope can’t help change that. Telemakhos is then visited by Athena, in which she arouses him and gives him the confidence and steady mind to search for word on his father. Telemakhos and the reader can interpret from the stories told about Odysseus that he was an important warrior and is thought to be dead. Therefore he is held to a higher respect than most Trojan…
The story of Oedipus Tyrannus, otherwise known as Oedipus the King or Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles; it tells the story of Oedipus, the king of Thebes who is plagued by a self-fulfilled prophecy in which he kills his father Laius and marries his own mother, Jocasta. Not only is it widely recognized as Sophocles’ greatest work, the story of Oedipus has lent its name to what is recognized in the psychological realm today as the Oedipus complex, in which a young child feels “complex emotions” relative to that of unconscious sexual desire toward the parent of the opposite sex. Oedipus as a leader, separate from his web of extremely strange familial encounters, is a point of contention. Oedipus’ role…
Throughout the Odyssey, the lead character, Odysseus, is presented as the ideal Greek leader. He demonstrates this through the treatment of his men and how he deals with problems that are presented to him. Because the Odyssey was first a spoken myth, it took on the shape of the society in which it was told. Including that society's moral and ethical values, as well as its desires in the traits of a leader. A leader must first be defined, then set apart from other potential leaders, then the leader must be tested through his actions, only then can a definite leader be defined.…