Odysseus As A Leader In Homer's The Odyssey

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The Odyssey starts off with Odysseus telling his tale to King Alcinous and the Phaeacians, but he arrives to the island of Phaicia without any of his men. Odysseus describes his adventure, and he talks about his success and failures. He speaks about his crew, and the decisions that were made. While telling this epic story, Odysseus describes everything that he has to do as the leader of these men. From the choices Odysseus makes on his voyage, it can be seen whether or not Odysseus is an effective leader. Soon after, Odysseus requests to leave, and King Alcinous gives him a ship that takes him home to Ithaca. At Ithaca, Odysseus makes certain decisions that can help to determine how he is as a leader. Whatever others might say, Odysseus is…show more content…
At Ithaca, Odysseus finds out that several suitors for Penelope were ravaging his house. He returns to his home to find a band of unruly suitors. Later, Odysseus battles with these suitors. He kills the worst of them all which was Antinous, but Odysseus would no longer listen to reason. The other suitors beg Odysseus to spare them, and they say that they will restore the wine and food stocks as well as bring gifts of bronze and gold. Odysseus doesn’t care, and he replies, “Not for the whole treasure of your fathers, all you enjoy, lands, flocks, or any gold put up by other, would I hold my hand. There will be killing till the score is paid.” (Pg#888) Odysseus no longer is listening to reason or even thinking about what he is doing. He is just going to kill each and every one of the suitors. This bloodshed isn’t something that a person would expect from a leader. Diplomacy comes first, and then comes violence and war. In addition, the families of these suitors come to Odysseus’s Great Hall to retrieve the dead bodies. Then, the father of Antinous rallies the other families to avenge the dead, and this could have possibly went horribly for Odysseus and his kingdom. Athena is the only reason that there is no civil war because she brings peace to the island . Odysseus makes a very poor decision by killing the suitors making enemies and rivals out of their families. The families of these suitors are some of the richest and most powerful people on Ithaca and nearby islands, and Odysseus is making great enemies out of these powerful families. To sum up, Odysseus massacres the suitors without thinking, and this could have lead to a civil war tearing Ithaca

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