Odysseus and his Leadership Skills Odysseus and his abysmal leadership and decisions are what plunges he and his crew into a downward spiral that leads to death and disappointment. This story of the descent, then rebirth of the hero Odysseus is told in Homer’s epic, The Odyssey. Odysseus shows throughout the novel that he still believes he is the bright, young, and omnipotent miracle worker he was back in the trojan war. However, this mindset is destructive, and incapacitates him. Making Odysseus take every risk he is able to take, whether it’s necessary or not.
For example, a common hero is Theseus as he was determined to save the people of Athens from having to sacrifice their children to the Cretan Minotaur. Similarly in Greek texts a person such as Hercules was considered a hero because of his many adventures, known as the twelve labours, he is also recognised as a hero due to his inhuman-like strength. The heroic qualities I will discuss are polymetis, leadership and loyalty as I feel these all play a key part in a hero’s success. Before the character of Odysseus is even met by the reader, he is descried as heroic by many other characters including Menelaus and Helen, for example, “whom undertook all those heroic tasks for my sake”. This shows how highly regarded Odysseus is even among other kings.
With that Polythemus called upon his father, Poseidon, to seek revenge on the man who had harmed him. That incident hurt Odysseus more than losing a few men, because Poseidon made his travel home longer and harder. Yet another weakness of our hero is his "sensualness." In other words, Odysseus loves women. An example of his love for women was his
He even goes into the underworld to speak to a prophet about how to get back to Ithaca. Being brave and courageous is all about being willing and able to go to the extremes to help or possibly save people or even a place in need. As well as having courage and bravery, Odysseus is also a strong warrior and leader. Living as king of Ithaca, he leads his fleet of warriors across Poseidon’s sea into a great battle against the Trojans. It is here where Odysseus and his fleet of warriors defeated the Trojans because of his great leadership.
Particularly, they perceived themselves as the emerging heroes in all their undertakings and that they were created to conquer the world. However, with the dawn of the tragic drama, the Greeks started to view live as being tragic with very many misfortunes happening to man. Their heroism as Greek citizens changed during this period for man was seen to be prone to suffering and torture. Life during this time was mystery with man becoming brutal to each other and enjoying the suffering of his fellow man as portrayed by the tragic drama. According to Steven (2006), the political systems during this time were crude with the strong people having their way, at the same time denying the weak their say.
Another god I believe plays quite an effective role in the Odyssey is Hermes. Hermes is the god who asks Calypso to release Odysseus from Calypso’s island. So, in a sense, Hermes is a hero for releasing Odysseus, which relates to him because he is often described as a hero for all the suffering he has been through. The next god I shall mention is Poseidon. Poseidon is Polyphemus' dad and after Odysseus blinds his son, he develops a passionate hate for Odysseus, which results in a 5-part curse being placed on him.
Aristotle defined tragedy as something having “great magnitude” we can apply this to “Antony and Cleopatra” as it includes themes such as forbidden love. It also includes epic battles and sorrowful deaths and it covers 10 years of ancient history. A “tragic hero” is defined as a character that must have greatness and power and has a fatal flaw and Antony’s flaws are excessive pride; he takes Caesars challenge at sea knowing that he will have defeated many and his love for Cleopatra. In ancient Rome passion for a woman was seen as a weakness and I admire Antony for his love for Cleopatra. In the play a comparison is drawn between Antony as Mars the Roman God of War.
In ancient Greece, a hero was described as a person who would fight hard and die hard. Many people would describe Odysseus as a selfish and cocky person who didn’t really care about his crew and what they have gone through to help him. Though in my opinion, Odysseus and his men are all heroes because they all are fighting their hardest. Odysseus starts out with his act of heroism when he is fighting on troy with all of his men. Odysseus had a plan to get in and get out.
Yet, he faces his fears head on, as the Trojans are in a battle to stay alive during a violent storm caused by the jealous goddess Juno. She has her reasons for not wanting Aeneas’ journey to be one of ease, but Aeneas demonstrates his leadership and proves that his priority is the well-being of his group. Once the ships safely land on the shore new Carthage, he provides food by “shooting and shooting til he won the hunt by laying seven carcasses on the ground” (Damrosch, Pike, p.691). Aeneas finds love with Queen Dido in Carthage, and although he could stay with her and fill the role of husband to the queen. He exhibits his obedience to the gods, “Duty-bound, Aeneas, though he struggled with desire to calm and comfort her pain… yet took the course
Achilles achieved honor on the battlefield as depicted in The Iliad, which fueled his pride. “I tried to dissuade you, but you gave in to your pride and dishonored a great man whom the immortals esteem” (Homer 115). However, his pride was not the only thing the Achilles of The Iliad depicts; his quest for glory is also his motivation to fight. The last lines of Book XX describe Achilles desire for this glory, “But the son of Peleus pressed on to win him glory, flecking with gore his irresistible hands." In the movie Troy Achilles is first motivated by honor and pride, but then passion overtakes him when Agamemnon takes Briseis.