Odysseus: A Good Leader

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A leader is someone who is aware of their strengths and weaknesses and the ability to motivate people to help them towards their goal. Greek Mythology has multiple great heroes, one of such being Odysseus. Odysseus has been away from home for 20 years and is going through multiple obstacles to get home to Ithaca. Odysseus is a good leader because he makes correct decisions for his men, he is very committed to his goal of returning to Ithaca, and is able to save the lives of his men numerous times. Odysseus is a good leader because he makes the correct decisions for his men. The first instance in which Odysseus demonstrates his decision making skills is when he is sending his men into the island of the Lotus Eaters. Sending his men into the island, “Then I sent two picked men and a runner to learn what race of men that land sustained. They fell in, soon enough, with Lotus Eaters…” (Homer 373). This demonstrates good decision making skills because it showed the rest of his crew that he is not afraid of certain types of danger and …show more content…
Odysseus first saves his men when he decides to go the route passed Scylla. Approaching Scylla, “But as I sent them on toward Scylla, I had told them nothing,m as they could do nothing,” (Homer 396). Odysseus saves his crew by passing Scylla, who will only take six of his men, rather than Charybdis, who would have killed all of them. Another instance in which Odysseus saves his men is when he escaped the Cyclops. As Odysseus and his men blind the Cyclops, “So with our brand we bored that great eye socket while blood ran out around the red hot bar. Eyelid and lash were seared; the pierced ball hissed broiling, and the roots popped,” (Homer 380). Odysseus’ plan worked to blind the Cyclops to escape and save the lives of him and his men. Being able to keep a crew and followers alive is key in leadership because it allows others to trust you as a