Leadership as Demonstrated by the Kings of Greece
By: Jack Menzagopian
Leadership is a prominent theme in Homer's Odyssey, but if one is to identify how that theme is present, one must first define leadership in the eyes of Homer. Throughout the epic, Homer provides us with hints that show us what he believes an ideal leader is.
The first hint appears to us in the Telemachy. As Telemachus is addressing the suitors, Antinoos and Telemachus engage in an argument as to what being a leader truly means. Antinoos wishes that Telemachus will never be chief because he is a gifted speaker and speaks aggressively. Telemachus responds to this by saying that there are people who are better qualified than he is to be a leader, but that he will be the chief of his house because of his blood. From this one can see that Homer believes that a leader is someone who must have certain qualities, but if they are given the title of leader through blood, that is a valid quality as well. Both men state that qualities of leadership are required to be a leader, and only one mentions blood, so Homer believes that it is more important to have those qualities rather than to be born into the position, but what are those qualities?
As Telemachus embarks on his journey, he meets other leaders along the way, such as Nestor, king of Pylos, and Menelaus, king of Sparta.Both men are hospitable, taking in their guests, and providing Telemachus with anything that he needs. Both kings give Telemachus information on Odysseus, and Nestor even gives his son to accompany Telemachus on his trip to Sparta.
Not only does Telemachus encounter other leaders, but so does Odysseus. Alkinoos, the leader of the Phaeacians, also accepts Odysseus into his home, listens to his story and gives him a ship so that he may return to Ithaca. All these leaders possess one common trait, hospitality. This hospitality is present because all of these kings have stable and prosperous kingdoms. When the heroes arrive at the kingdoms of Nestor, Menelaus, and Alkinoos, all of their kingdoms are partying. They have the resources and unity to host many events.
Not only can Menelaus, Nestor, and Alkinoos be generous and kind, but they can be assertive if needed. An example of this would be when Odysseus is being ridiculed because he would not participate in the games on the island of the Phaeacians, and Alkinoos stands up for him against some of his people. In the Telemachy, an example of this would be when Menelaus responds to the story Helen told Telemachus about Odysseus. In the story, she says that after seeing Odysseus she was filled with joy because she was homesick and wanted to return to the husband that she loved. Menelaus responds with a story that happened at the very last moments of the Trojan War. In the story, Helen tries to trick the Achaean soldiers in the horse to give themselves away. Menelaus shows that he is not afraid to criticize his wife if needed.
In conclusion, a good leader is a man who is not afraid to use his power but does not abuse it. He keeps his subjects in check but gives them the freedom that they deserve. With a good leader comes peace and unity, just like Sparta, Pylos, and Phaeacia, and with a lack of sufficient leadership or a leader at all, there is chaos, just like Ithaca.
Odysseus's Struggles Made Him a Leader
By: Ray Wu
Throughout the grand epic of the Odyssey, the main protagonist, Odysseus, was a hubris-filled person that didn’t care about his crewmates advice and didn’t trust them. However, as he struggles through many struggles and difficulties and suffers many losses, he learnt about what it means to be a real leader and learnt from his mistakes.
Odysseus, without a doubt, was a great commander during the Trojan War: devising the idea for the Trojan horse, and keeping his comrades quiet inside the horse when Helen called out to them, and extraordinary feat. However, when tasked with bringing back his men safely back to Ithaka, he failed miserably. Every human in Homer’s epic has a fatal flaw, no matter how grand and awe-inspiring they are. Odysseus is no exception. At times, he is untrusting, obsessive, doesn’t listen to others, and is a bit hasty. When begged by his comrades, not to explore the Cyclop’s cave, Odysseus stubbornly refuses to and explores the cave, expecting a warm Greek welcome. Instead, Polyphemus eats some of Odysseus’s men, and his crew is imprisoned inside his cave. Odysseus, using his wit and keen intelligence, successfully blinds the Cyclops and escapes with his men. This all demonstrates his great leadership skills, but in Odysseus’s excessive pride and hubris, he calls out his real name to Polyphemus with no regard to any consequences, and endangers all of his men to their death. Because of Odysseus’s actions as pride-filled man, all of his men died and were unable to return home. However, it is because of these events that Odysseus learns about his arrogance and takes action, so it doesn’t happen again. This is present when he tells his servant Eurykleia, not to celebrate the death of the suitors that were killed. Odysseus now understood to keep his pride under control, and taught others, not to make the same mistakes of him, just like mentor. Odysseus was also suspicious of his men when he obtains the bag of winds, and doesn’t trust any of them to contents of the bag. This is why he is the only one to pilot the ship for several days, for his fear that his men would misuse the bag. This distrust between his men also leads to their downfall when his men open up the bag out of curiosity and are blown back seven days to where they first began. This signifies that hiding things from each other, and relying only on oneself is a needless characteristic for a leader. Based on this event, Odysseus understood his flaws and started to have confidence in others, like Eumaios the swineherd, who asks to join him to kill the suitors. Odysseus also portrays another example of trust when he tells his son, Telemachus, to lock up all the suitors weapons. Based on these actions that Odysseus exhibits, one can see that he has learned to not only rely on himself, but to put faith in others, and to have an equal relationship with them, which is an essential part of being a leader. Through Odysseus’s journey home to Ithaka, one can see the many lessons that he’s learned in his trip. Odysseus learned that being a leader was not just performing incredible acts of valor and bravery or outwitting an enemy. A true leader not only learns from his mistakes, but rises about it, and takes action. This is what makes a great leader. |
Telemachus Learns To Be A Leader
By: Luke Rooney
Telemachus' rise as a leader parallels his growth as a man. At the beginning of the Odyssey, Telemachus is too afraid to usher the suitors out of his own home. Telemachus is devoted to keeping Penelope safe and his father’s estate intact, but doesn’t know how to protect them. At the introduction of the great leader Athena, in the body of Odysseus' friend Mentes, Telemachus is given a lesson of his responsibilities as a young Prince and is given the courage to force the suitors out,"You must leave my palace! See to your feasting elsewhere, devour your own possessions, house to house by turns.” Telemachus' growth is also present in his solemn journey to find his father alone and emphasizes his coming of manhood as he does it all on his own.
In his journey, Telemachus is transformed by the people he meets and the places where he travels. When seeking advice from Nestor, Telemachus is given a sense of respect of devotion and loyalty. When Telemachus visits Menelaus to find information as to his father's whereabouts, he hears great stories of his father to give him the substance to keep pressing on. Menelaus even recognizes Telemachus,"Your father's son you are, your words have all his wisdom" showing Telemachus was filling his father's legacy. Telemachus expressed a sense of maturity when asking Menelaus for the truth about his father, even though it may be unfavorable.
The sheer growth of Telemachus as a leader is amazing in the fact of how it happened in such a short amount of time. Any time Telemachus met someone, he was out of his comfort zone. He adapted and changed to the situation in order to aid himself. Telemachus' growth weighed in towards the end of the epic. Telemachus attempts to string Odysseus' bow and comes very close but still can't, showing Telemachus still isn't quite as great as his father yet. Telemachus also is able to fight alongside his father in ousting the suitors. At the end of the epic Telemachus has grown as a man, and achieved a sense of leadership.
In his journey, Telemachus is transformed by the people he meets and the places where he travels. When seeking advice from Nestor, Telemachus is given a sense of respect of devotion and loyalty. When Telemachus visits Menelaus to find information as to his father's whereabouts, he hears great stories of his father to give him the substance to keep pressing on. Menelaus even recognizes Telemachus,"Your father's son you are, your words have all his wisdom" showing Telemachus was filling his father's legacy. Telemachus expressed a sense of maturity when asking Menelaus for the truth about his father, even though it may be unfavorable.
The sheer growth of Telemachus as a leader is amazing in the fact of how it happened in such a short amount of time. Any time Telemachus met someone, he was out of his comfort zone. He adapted and changed to the situation in order to aid himself. Telemachus' growth weighed in towards the end of the epic. Telemachus attempts to string Odysseus' bow and comes very close but still can't, showing Telemachus still isn't quite as great as his father yet. Telemachus also is able to fight alongside his father in ousting the suitors. At the end of the epic Telemachus has grown as a man, and achieved a sense of leadership.
Like Father, Like Son
By: David Fristensky
Both of the characters Telemachus and Odysseus express leadership in similar ways, the difference being that Telemachus, still a boy, journeyed through being a boy to becoming a man, and Odysseus left manhood and became something greater. The Odyssey is an epic written about Odysseus, the great Greek hero who experienced many troubles while going home from the Trojan War. He and his men went a long way before any of them got home again. While Odysseus was a bright leader in war, he really scaled the ladder of leadership through his ten year journey getting back to his home in Ithaca. He had to learn to be open to the opinions of his men, to try to think ahead of time, and to be selfless, as all leaders should be. During his visit with the Cyclopes, he learned he had to control himself in order to get away a little too late. He thought befroe that since the event of the Cicones and the beach party, his men were not to be trusted. He learns in the episode with Polyphemus that his men's opinions do need to be taken inot consideration, though. Odysseus was able to think ahead when he and his men visited the lotus eaters, Circe, and the Sirens, and he was able to take other valuable lessons along with him there. Such lessons included doing the right thing to do by taking his men away from the lotus eaters, respecting his men by having them turned into pigs by Circe, and by planning ahead in an effort to hear the Sirens. Odysseus, a man already, transitioned into a wise man who knows the ways of the world and can use them to his advantage. Telemachus, however, had just started his journey.
Telemachus was first seen daydreaming of the day his father would come back, but not doing anything about the suitors invading his house. One day, wisdom came to him to take on a leadership role to find his long-lost father, and Telemachus took advantage of this moment. Telemachus was told by Athena that he was to tell the suitors that he would gather a crew of men to go sailing for his father, Odysseus. He immediately sailed off to Sparta and Pylos, the kingdoms in which the kings were good friends of Odysseus. While there, Telemachus learned that to be a leader, one must take action and do what he thinks is right. Leadership is not all about bravery and the ability to win. Telemachus’s story teaches us that although one can be young, one can be one of the most powerful factors in the role of leadership.
Telemachus was first seen daydreaming of the day his father would come back, but not doing anything about the suitors invading his house. One day, wisdom came to him to take on a leadership role to find his long-lost father, and Telemachus took advantage of this moment. Telemachus was told by Athena that he was to tell the suitors that he would gather a crew of men to go sailing for his father, Odysseus. He immediately sailed off to Sparta and Pylos, the kingdoms in which the kings were good friends of Odysseus. While there, Telemachus learned that to be a leader, one must take action and do what he thinks is right. Leadership is not all about bravery and the ability to win. Telemachus’s story teaches us that although one can be young, one can be one of the most powerful factors in the role of leadership.
Conclusion
All in all, leadership played a big role in Homer’s epic The Odyssey. Leadership is what pulled Odysseus’s men together and what brought Telemachus to his senses. Without leadership, Odysseus would never have gotten home, and Telemachus never would have had a chance of getting his home back. Homer’s utilization of leadership was probably the most important factor in the entire epic, since without it, the story would have been rendered useless. The Odyssey is a well-written epic with many valuable lessons that could be taught to a reader, whether about leadership or about life in general. Leadership is what made Odysseus ruler of Ithaca, and it is what helped Telemachus save Ithaca. As readers, one can easily see that leadership is shown repeatedly and expressively in this epic.