Odysseus as a Leader

The owner of a show horse has many tasks to keep her horse fit and beautiful. She must spend time cleaning, stroking, and combing his hair to keep its gleaming shine. She must make good choices time after time for her horse, allowing him to be in his best condition. She must also train with him day after day and spend hours after hours with her baby, giving him her unconditional love. Like the dedicated owner to her horse, Odysseus shows wonderful leadership skills towards his men with his wily intelligence, warm compassion, and vast bravery.

One of Odysseus' best traits as a leader was his brilliant mind. Without his continuous wits, Odysseus would have never gotten his crew as far as he did. A great example of this creativity is when Odysseus and his men were trapped in the Cyclops' (Polyphemus) cave. It was Odysseus who came up with blinding the drunken monster with a sharpened log and it was he who tricked the great Cyclops with his "Nohbdy" scheme: "My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends/everyone calls me Nohbdy" (827-828), sang Odysseus to the intoxicated Cyclops. The dazzling intelligence of Odysseus also helped him and his men escape from the evil Polyphemus to safer grounds. He said,

"I drew on all my wits, and ran through tactics,

reasoning as a man will for dear life,

until a trick came - and it pleased me well.

The Cyclops' rams were handsome, fat, with heavy

fleeces, a dark violet" (887-891).

With this, Odysseus tied three rams together and "slung a man under each middle one/to ride there safely, shielded left and right," (894-895) and together they slowly walked towards the horizon.

Second, his charming consideration for others made Odysseus a wonderful leader. He always did his best to keep his members safe and sound, along with always encouraging them to get home. One example of this is when Odysseus made his visit to Circe and was told of the evil and horrendous days ahead. He kept the knowledge to himself and away from other ears, not wanting to scare the fleet. When they voyaged near the Sirens, Odysseus took effort and "carved/a massive cake of beeswax into bits/and rolled them/.../and laid it thick on [the] ears" (1263- 1268) of his men to make