Why Was Odysseus A Poor Leader?

Odysseus is not a hero because he lets his pride make most of his decisions, which gets him into difficult situations. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus makes mistakes that causes his men to be killed. Most of these mistakes could have been fixed by Odysseus making better decisions throughout his journey.

Odysseus was an effective leader for many reasons. one example was when Odyssey use his mind to get his men’s out of hades. one example was when he help his mans get to safety. he was an Effective leaders and in this part of the story,Odysseus men were scared of of the Hades, and they did not think Odysseus would make it back,so he told them not to worry, i will make it back and he tells them to leave if he doesn’t make it back to the ship. another example was when Odysseus and his men were stock in cave with the one eye monster.

Not only was he the things described, but he was also a very boastful man, which isn’t a very good characteristic for a leader like himself. This shows that Odysseus was a good leader at times and he was a bad leader too, which

Camila Ventura Ms. Quijano-Diaz English 1 Honor 11 March 2024 Is Odysseus a Good Leader? Over the course of Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey," Odysseus has shown himself to be a capable leader on numerous occasions and a less than ideal one on others. Many now question if Odysseus is indeed a capable leader in light of this. Odysseus is portrayed as a complex character who displays bravery and wisdom. His astute tactics, fearlessness in the face of difficulty, and inventiveness in conquering obstacles frequently portray him as a perceptive leader.

Although Odysseus is the captain of his men on the ship, he is a bad leader in the story. “ ‘I say, Cyclops! He didn’t turn out to be such a milksop after all, did he, when you murdered his friends and gobbled them up in your cave? Your sins were sure to find you out, you cruel brute!” (117) Odysseus is very boastful when he has victory over his opponents. He outsmarts Polyphemus, and then mocks him after escaping the cave. This shows that Odysseus is not setting a good example for his crew of men. “ But I was determined not to listen, and shouted again in my fury: ‘I say Cyclops! if ever any one asks

Question 1) I believe that Odysseus was a bad leader, because multiple times in the story, he puts him and his followers in bad situations. In book IV of The Odyssey, Odysseus’s curiosity takes him and his crew to Polyphemus’ cave where they end up getting trapped. This shows that Odysseus does not have much common sense, as he put him and his crew right in the palm of Polyphemus’ hand without even realizing it. Also, according to Homer in book X, Odysseus gets him and his followers in lots of trouble with Circe. While Odysseus is not so unwillingly being held captive by Circe, she changes his men into pigs. This also proves that he is not a good leader because he was only thinking of himself. Lastly, in book XII, Odysseus keeps a secret from his crew for his own benefit. Odysseus is well aware that his men will all end up dieing before they can make it home, but he chooses to not tell them. This again proves that Odysseus is a bad leader because he is being selfish. That is why Odysseus is a bad leader.

These people believe that Odysseus was a strong leader, he’s brave, and he’s loyal to his family. They are wrong for viewing Odysseus as a hero, and here’s why. First of all, a strong leader wouldn’t treat his shipmates like slaves, instead he would listen to their desires and try to put them in action. Odysseus was a brave hero for facing the monsters and for defending his shipmates, but he had to show mercy to the opposing side. During the journey, Odysseus was very violent and he always assumed that everyone is trying to murder him, so he attacked anyone and anything that opposed his ideas or actions.

First, Odysseus is not a hero because he is a foolish leader who makes many mistakes on his journey back home to Ithaka. His first mistake is his decision to let his men raid and

Although Odysseus is one of the most well known greek heros in the world, he is also very controversial among the people as well. In the book, “The Odyssey” written by Homer, Odysseus made some choices that makes the readers question his role as a leader. In “The Odyssey”, it tells the story about Odysseus’ long journey home from the Trojan War. Along the way, Odyssey has extended his times away from home by making unintelligent decisions that led him to encounter one disaster after another. Although Odysseus has some positive attributes, he is a poor leader for the following reasons: he is too cocky and overconfident, he make careless decision, and finally, he is very selfish.

First of all, Odysseus was very selfish during their journey back to Ithaca. For example,“We lit a fire, burnt an offering, and we took some cheese to eat; then sat in silence around the embers, waiting”(Homer 219-222). If Odysseus took the cheese and left, his men would not have had to dealt with Polyphemus. He put himself before his men because he wanted a gift from the cave owner. Odysseus was also selfish when he sailed near the lands of Sirens.“Steer wide; keep well to seaward; plug your oarsmen’s ears with beeswax kneaded soft”(Homer 669-671). Although Circe told Odysseus to steer clear of the area, Odysseus wanted to be known as the man who survived a Siren’s song. He put his own men in danger just because he wanted to become famous. Odysseus was also very arrogant to think that he could get past the Sirens.

Odysseus was a great leader and hero throughout the story in many examples as I have listed below. My first example is when Odysseus was able to make a spear when he was in Polyphemus's cave. He then took the spear and drove it through the eye of the beast, blinding him. The cyclops then moved the boulder and the men escaped by hiding under sheep.This example shows that O. is a hero because he is daring. If the cyclops was to find any of them or he had missed and woken him then this surely would have meant death for them. The second reason is in book twelve when O. must pass the sirens. To do so he slabs beeswax on the ears of his shipmates. This will make it so them can not be lured into the captivity of the sirens. O. then lashes himself

Odysseus’s arrogance is shown throughout the poem, but it is clearly shown during his time with a cyclops named Polyphemus. When Odysseus and his men enter a dangerous cave because of their leader’s foolish curiosity and meets Polyphemus, Odysseus says “It was our luck to come here; here we stand,/ beholden for your help, or any gifts/ you give-as custom is to honor strangers,” (256-268). Here Odysseus is practically demanding that the cyclops treat him and his men with courtesy just because he is a guest. His arrogance and pride makes them stay with the dangerous cyclops even though they had a perfect chance for escaping from cyclops at the very beginning before the conversation even started. If only they quickly left with some cheese or nothing at all, Odysseus wouldn’t have lost so many men. Because of Odysseus’s arrogance, six of his men were eaten by the cyclops. Another example when Odysseus arrogance is shown was just

Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus has shown various qualities of a weak leader. For one, Odysseus taunts Polyphemus unnecessarily. This leads him and his men being “cursed” to never return home or to kill all of Odysseus’s men. This shows Odysseus is a bad leader because he is excessively prideful and egotistical. He often lets those traits make decisions for him, and this causes poor fortune for him and his men. Another example of Odysseus being a bad leader is when he accepts the fate of his men instead of trying to find a loophole that would save them. Along with his crew’s fate, his decision to listen to the sirens was also a foolish decision. There could have been a lot of time saved if his men were not preoccupied with keeping Odysseus

Odysseus proves his selfishness by disregarding any advice given to him by others and doing what he thinks will have the best outcome for himself. His egocentric attitude continues to be portrayed as he puts his health and well-being before his men. Aeolus, ruler of the winds, presents Odysseus with a bag of wind to guide him and his crew home, but instead of putting his pride aside and letting his men know what it is, he lets their imagination take over to where they assume it is filled with treasure that he is selfishly taking for himself. Although he was not actually taking treasure, it is selfish of him to keep this information from his men knowing they will open it. He puts all the blame on them when he says, ‘My coward comrades did me in’ (10.71). Odysseus could have easily prevented this, but he was too stubborn. Along their way home, the crew docks on Helios’ island where they are advised not to eat the cattle, but while Odysseus was away attempting to call on the gods, they sacrificed the best cows. A good leader would have explained to them consequences, but he was only worried about his own personal agenda. Because of this, Zeus punishes them when he says, ‘As for those sinners, I’ll soon strike their ship/with blazing lightning’ (12.394-395). These instances cause his

Odysseus is a courageous leader because he saves his crew in combat many times. One way Odysseus shows he is a courageous leader is by proving his worth in combat. Odysseus is obviously a good fighter because he survived the Trojan War, if he had not have been a