Odysseus is a Bad Leader

Today, when most people think of a good leader, they think of a person who has courage, is brave, and they would sacrifice their own life for anyone. In ancient Greece, a hero is a person, who is very clever, is cruel, and someone who believes they are above all the gods. The epic poem "The Odyssey" is written by Homer and takes place in ancient Greece 700 B.C. "The Odyssey" is about a man named Odysseus and his ten-year journey to get home with his men after losing the Trojan war. Over the course his ten-year journey, Odysseus faces many obstacles including mythical creatures. In the meantime, while Odysseus is gone his wife Penelope has many people who want to marry her because people think Odysseus is dead. Also, they want to marry Penelope because they want to inherit his fortune and his kingdom. As a result of the poem, Odysseus has the ability to be a very good leader, but it is pretty clear Odysseus is a bad leader. Odysseus is a terrible leader because he is hubris, does not have good communication skills, and makes horrible decisions. To begin, Odysseus is a hubris person and it greatly impacts his leadership skills. Hubris is when a person thinks they have more power than the gods and has pride in themselves. Hubris is a good thing unless it turns into arrogance like Odysseus. Odysseus is hubris when he won the battle of Troy. Odysseus does not give a sacrifice to the gods for helping the Greeks win the victory. This is very arrogant and prideful of him. As stated, by the poem "Then I urge them to cut and run, see sail but would they listen? Not those munitions fools. Too much wine to swill, too many sheep to slaughter." He blames the whole situation on his crew and takes no blame. For this reason, Odysseus shows pride because he thinks that he is perfect and could never do anything wrong. Odysseus being hubris ends up causing him and his crew problems. Therefore, Odysseus hubris because he would not take the blame when it was his fault. Next, Odysseus has bad communication skills. Odysseus should have good communication skills so he can communicate well with his men and gain their trust. However, Odysseus has bad communication skills. When Odysseus fell asleep his men open the bag thinking it is gold and silver. They open the bag of winds. According to the story Down to the ship, Eurylochus came running to cry alarm, foul magic doomed his men! If Odysseus would have told his men the bag contained winds then they would not have opened it. As a result, they blew farther away from their destination. This proves Odysseus has bad communication skill. Since Odysseus does not have good communication skill, he is a bad leader. Lastly, Odysseus makes poor decisions. Making good decisions is the most beneficial part of a good leader. In everyday life, you are constantly making decisions all day long. Odysseus makes many poor decisions which was a cause for him to become a terrible leader. One situation was when they explored a cave and tried to steal cattle and cheese. Polyphemus returned and trapped Odysseus Men. Before Polyphemus was drunk Odysseus gives him his name and poked Polyphemus eye out to free his men. According to the poem Heating the end of the pole until it was glowing red, we ran it toward the Cyclops like a battering ram, aiming it for his eye and driving it deep. The thing sizzled as hot metal dropped in water while I twisted it like an auger. This poor decision he makes caused some of his men die. Also, the men were trying to convince him to go back. All good leaders listen, but Odysseus did not because he is a bad leader. In other words, this example shows Odysseus is a terrible leader because he makes horrible decisions.

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