In the epic poem Odysseus, Homer does not explicitly label Odysseus as an effective leader, nor as an ineffective leader; the author lets the reader decide. However, Homer often portrays Odysseus as an effective and great leader through his thoughts and actions. In the poem he is shown to care for his men first, he always protects his men, and Odysseus displays his wit while outsmarting many foes. One of the most famous and greatest examples of Odysseus’ stellar leadership is Polyphemus’ island. Here Odysseus saves his men from what would otherwise be a gruesome death using his shrewd intelligence. In book 9, Odysseus saves his men using this technique, “Three abreast I tied them silently together, twining cords of willow from the ogre’s bed; then slung a man under each middle one to ride there safely, shielded left and right. So three sheep…show more content… More fearsome, is it now, than when the Kyklops penned us in his cave? What power he had! Did I not keep my nerve, and use my wits to find a way out for us?” Here, he projects a confident and optimistic mood, in order to keep his men in good spirits, demonstrating his concern for his men. He then proves himself worthy of his crew’s trust by sailing past the Charybdis and next to the Skylla, ensuring he only lost 6 men instead of the whole crew. The author does not specifically tell us whether Odysseus is an effective leader or not, but in the books 9-12 Odysseus is clearly shown as an effective leader when he saves his crew from many dangerous situations, one being Polyphemus's island. In addition, Homer demonstrates Odysseus’ intelligence by having him save his crew and himself from a multitude of fatal circumstances. All these examples blend together in order to establish Odysseus as one of the most effective and cunning leaders in the history of
