...The Odyssey, Homer tells a tale about the main character Odysseus as goes through many trials and tribulations on his journey home. Homer’s tales shows many important things about the Greeks and their views about life. One of things he shows through his story are the qualities of leadership. The Odyssey shows many important qualities of leadership, three of the most important qualities of leadership are determination, courage and intelligence. The Odyssey shows that one of the most important qualities of leadership is the ability to be determine and not let the bumps in the road stop you from reaching your goal. In book 5, although Odysseus has been stuck on a beautiful island with a beautiful women he still longs to go home. “Yet it is true, each day I long for home, long for the sight of home,” replied Odysseus to Calypso. Calypso tried her best to try and convince Odysseus to neglect his goal, but Odysseus stayed strong and kept his goal in sight. This is an important quality for a leader to have, because a leader must be able to keep his men strong and help them remember why they are still working. A leader has to be able to stand firm even if his men begin to give up hope. The Odyssey show what a determined leader looks like through the character of Odysseus....
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...What does Odysseus learn from his Adventures? Odysseus learns many great qualities from his adventures. He learns from meeting new gods and goddesses, being a great hero, and many other trials he has faced. He learns lessons from the different events. Odysseus is very stubborn but with the right lessons, advice from others, and different trials along the way, he can become a great strong man. He learned self-control, leadership abilities, and better problem solving. He takes the events that he goes through and learns how to be a better hero and leader. The gods and goddesses taught Odysseus self control, not directly but in the situations they faced Odysseus with it molded him to have self -control. For example when he was told to tie himself down when his ship passed the sirens, when the crew encountered Scylla, and when they arrived on the Island of Helios. When his ship passed the sirens Odysseus could have not tied himself down to the mast. He showed leadership skills by telling his men to put beeswax in their ears so they would not untie him. He would beg and plead for his men to untie him, but they would only tighten more rope around him. The next trial brought Odysseus’ ship to the bottom of Scylla’s cave. Odysseus was forced to helplessly witness six of his men get taken away by the ferocious beast. Odysseus wanted to revolt against the monster and fate. This was to save the men, Odysseus had to hold himself back because Circe had instructed him ,“the only avail...
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...In Homer’s the Odyssey, a man named Odysseus spends years and years trying to get home to his family. On his long journey, he encounters a number of different situations that test his true character. The reader finds out who Odysseus really is based on the situations he is put in and how he chooses to handle these situations. From being stuck on an Island with Calypso, a nymph goddess, to almost being eaten by a vicious cyclops, to seeing his wife for the first time in 20 years, Odysseus stays true to his character. Throughout the epic, Odysseus shows constant signs of bravery, leadership, intelligence, cleverness, and wholehearted faithfulness, and these things are what makes him such an admirable character. Bravery and leadership go hand in hand because bravery is a trait that all good leaders have. Odysseus showed amazing bravery and leadership skills throughout the Odyssey. One place where Odysseus’s bravery and leadership are revealed the most is when Odysseus and his men encounter Poseidon’s Cyclops son, Polyphemus. Odysseus used his leadership skills and bravery to help his men escape the wrath of Polyphemus while...
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...the Odyssey, Odysseus exhibits his most prominent heroic trait of courage, but unfortunately, also demonstrates the human characteristic of arrogance. Even though Odysseus is seen as a hero, he has bad qualities too. Odysseus has the two main qualities of courage and arrogance which he demonstrates while fighting the cyclops and traveling throughout the seas with his crew. Homer exhibits these traits all throughout the story by presenting Odysseus as a war like hero with no flaws, when further throughout the story you are able to see all of Odysseus most human like qualities. . Odysseus has many characteristics that he portrays all throughout the book of the Odyssey. A couple of his most prominent heroic qualities are courage...
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...A good leader is hard to define. “Leadership is the art of leading others to deliberately create a result that wouldn’t have happened otherwise” - search inside yourself leadership institute. There are also many qualities of a good leader. Some of the qualities include honesty, decisiveness, and selflessness. In the epic poem the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus, the main character, is faced with the decision between the monsters Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla is a female monster with 6 dog heads, and Charybdis is a whirlpool. He chooses to pass by Scylla instead of Charybdis on his journey home. Odysseus is a good leader he makes good decisions, and he puts his men's needs in front of his own. As mentioned before, the main qualities of a leader...
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...Odysseus is an exceptional hero who holds a number of traits that make him so. Some of these being his courage, leadership qualities, and his sharp intellect. He also possesses negative qualities, as every moral does, like his unfaithfulness and his overbearing self pride. His journey back to his home and family in Ithaca from the Trojan war is a long and treacherous one. On this journey he has shown these traits and proved his heroic ways. A few positive traits that Odysseus holds are courage, leadership qualities, and an immensely sharp intellect. On his journey he encounters many horrific monsters, such as the 6-necked Scylla in book 12. He steers his ship directly at this creature knowing that 6 men from his ship will be slain. He is also a very strong leader. He proves his leadership by saving his men, who had been turned into pigs, from the enchantress going by the name of Circe. He does this, in book 10, by facing her and threatening to kill her. The last...
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...cause, and forget everything else. A hero that shared many of these same veteran feelings is Odysseus, a war veteran in the epic poem, The Odyssey, who is attempting to come home from a long war that ended because of him. Like all veterans, he struggled to accept his actions during the war,...
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...Odyssey, written by Homer, the main character, Odysseus, had the leadership qualities one must possess to be an epic hero. People in general, always will follow a leader no matter what his or her characteristics are.An epic hero is defined as a human in the favor of the gods who is the main character in an epic poem, has larger than life qualities, goes on an adventure, leads a group of people, and has at least one flaw. All of these characteristics are what make a leader into an epic hero. Odysseus is was exactly what the definition states. There are so many things that can turn an ordinary person into an epic hero and Odysseus is a great example of this. One of the requirements an epic hero must have is the favor of the gods. Odysseus was in the favor of multiple gods and goddesses. Many of them gave him advice or things to help him along his journey. Hermes gave him a magical plant called, Moly, which would protect him from Circe’s drink. Athena was probably the goddess that helped him the most throughout his journey. She warns Odysseus about the suitors back home and helped him fight against them as well as the Trojans. Zeus went both ways about helping Odysseus, sometimes he did and sometimes he did not. The “omen” that Zeus sent when Odysseus faced the suitors is an example of Odysseus being in his favor. Aeolus, King of the Wind, also helped the epic hero. When Odysseus and his crew left the King’s island he gave Odysseus two parting gifts. One of them was a wind that...
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...obstacles.” Throughout time, a hero has represented an individual who sacrifices himself for a cause greater than themselves. Odysseus the protagonist from The Odyssey faces many hardships for his country returning home from the Trojan War. Martin Luther King faces a similar struggle through his fight for the equal rights of African Americans. In addition to the evolution of society, the definition of a hero has evolved, valuing different characteristics. Despite the obstacles both men face, through comparing Dr. King and Odysseus, one can see that contemporary society values selflessness,...
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...CORC 1110 Paper # 1- Character Analysis of Odysseus’ Godlike/Human Status Homer’s The Odyssey may feature several heroes, but none are as prevalent as Odysseus. Odysseus has proved himself to be a magnificent hero in various ways. He has shown the heroic traits of courageousness, loyalty, and he saved thousands of innocent lives. However, Odysseus is not necessarily a godlike figure. He is in fact a role model, with a goal to reach his home through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength. While he is brave, clever, and demonstrates self restraint the faults in Odysseus’ character bring him back to being a mortal man. Odysseus is godlike in both a physical and spiritual sense. Physically, he was created handsome as his creation is described: “Then Athena, born from Zeus, made him look taller and more muscled, and made his hair tumble down his head like hyacinth flowers…So Athena herself made Odysseus' head and shoulders shimmer with grace” (6.236-244). Aside from his godly physique, Odysseus is physically strong and capable as he overcomes the extreme dangers that occur throughout the journey and comes out alive after it all. Being able to face dangerous people and creatures is evident that he is a courageous man given that any mortal man wouldn’t have been able to survive a journey after so many challenges. From the spiritual aspect, Odysseus demonstrates godlike behavior by remaining faithful to his wife and family during the voyage. Remaining...
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...Leadership is not something to be taken lightly. In the book the Odyssey, Odysseus leads his men through many journeys on his way back home to Ithaca. Odysseus has the responsibility of taking care of the lives of his whole crew. In today's world, a leader may just be the coach of the local high school basketball team or the manager of the McDonald’s just down the road. These two occupations have nothing in common with what Odysseus is faced with in his endeavor, except for one thing. All three of these leaders want success for themselves and the people that they are trying to lead. Odysseus fails at leading his men to success because he allows for all of his men to die during his journey back to Ithaca. Odysseus is an unfit leader because he does not possess the trust of his crew and the openness to communicate with them....
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...Gabriela Riccardi Dr. Clinton Period 5 Odysseus vs. Antinous Odysseus and Antinous share some of the most important qualities to be a leader, how they use them though, makes the two men polar opposites. Antinous is the “top” suitor for Penelope, while Odysseus is Penelope’s husband who has been making his journey home for over ten years. Although she can see that her husband and this man are alike in some ways, the worst in Antinous keeps her holding onto the best in Odysseus. Antinous is cruel and abuses the small amount of power he is given by being named “top” suitor. Antinous is disrespectful of the gods, he shows us this when he hits the stranger (Odysseus) with a chair. You are supposed to take in any stranger with open arms incase it is a god in disguise; Antinous however, disregards that ancient moral and yells at the old beggar. Antinous also shows that he is unlike Odysseus because he isn’t observant. When the chair bounced off Odysseus’ back and didn’t hurt him, Antinous should have known that something was not right. They are alike< on the other hand, because they both show leadership. Antinous is the best choice for Penelope, according to the other men he is competing with, and they support him when he bullies other men. Odysseus started out going on the same path as Antinous, but luckily his adventures to get back to Ithaca changed him severely. Odysseus is a ruler who knows what is best for his crew, and he learns his lesson about boasting when the Cyclops...
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...Odysseus; Hero? “A true hero is not measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart.” This was said by Hercules in the Disney movie by the same name. Odysseus should not be judged on his physical strength, but rather how much he is willing to sacrifice of himself in order to save others. While he is strong and clever, his heart holds only arrogance. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus goes on many adventures while traveling home. However, he does make some bad decisions along the way. He chooses to be egotistical instead of keeping possible outcomes of his actions and thoughts in mind. These choices get him in trouble in many instances. He and his men had to escape from a cyclops and once he used his cleverness to get leave, his ego come out, which brought trouble to he and his men. Therefore, readers should know that Odysseus is not a hero because he displays carelessness, disloyalty, and arrogance on many occasions throughout the story....
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... a soldier named Odysseus has a dangerous and a long journey home. Odysseus deals with many obstacles, but remains determined to make it home. The Greek gods play a crucial role in Odysseus’ journey. While Odysseus’ pride gets in the way, unleashing the God's fury, his loyalty, courage, and respect for the gods, particularly Athena, help him make it home. Many gods, such as Calypso, Zeus, Circe, Hermes, and Athena, help Odysseus on his journey but some gods hurt and punish Odysseus. His pride occurs when he and his crew get stuck on the Cyclops’ island. The crew are trapped by the Cyclops because Odysseus wants to size up to the Cyclops. Odysseus’ crew members beg him to leave, but his pride got in the way leading to the deaths of his crew members. Odysseus uses his smarts and leadership qualities to get himself and some crew members out alive. Odysseus comes up with the plan to stab the Cyclops in the eye. When Odysseus stabs the Cyclops in the eye, the Cyclops cries to his dad Poseidon for help. When Odysseus got back to his ship, he told the Cyclops to tell his companies that “The...
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...Is Odysseus Is a Hero Or Not? Do you think Odysseus is a hero? Does Odysseus’s actions define and symbolize him as a true hero? A hero is somebody who strives for the greatest and shows kindness, integrity, motivation and leadership. Odysseus is not a hero because he does nothing out of the goodness of his heart. Although Odysseus fought in the Trojan war, he's not a hero because he is self-centered and ignorant. He did not demonstrate heroic qualities because he cheats, steals and lies and those are not ideal heroic qualities. In this essay I will be explaining some of the many examples of his ignorance and self centeredness and his disloyalty, risk taking actions that make him who he is. Odysseus is self-centered. He doesn't take people’s advice and assumes he's correct and everything he will do is going to end up being right. He was receiving advice from Circe about fighting Scylla and decided not to take it. Circe said that the crew must pass between Scylla, a terrible six-headed monster, and Charybdis, who creates a whirlpool that sucks whole ship's down into the sea three times a day. Odysseus neglected all advice he was given, from Circe and from other crew members. Also, he doesn't value other people's lives compared than his. He was strongly encouraged not to fight Scylla , and proceeded to try, considering the fact he risked all of his men's lives and had to pay a...
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