Machiavelli and Odysseus

Power and Leadership

The Connection of Power and Leadership between The Odyssey and The Prince

Research Assignment
Stories in Diverse Media
LAPS/HUMA 1780

Prepared for:
Dr. Gillian Helfield
Mr. Julian Manyoni

Prepared by:
Samuel James Ysip
212-697-983
Power and Leadership
Power and leadership play a big role in accomplishing the objectives of a team. A person having these two attributes can direct a group of people towards achieving their common goal. These two components of authority are also essential to each other in order for the leader to be successful. Power is a person’s ability to influence others and leadership is a person’s talent to guide a group of people to achieve their common goal. A person that has power but without the capacity to make the right decisions for the team will definitely fail to lead a team to their goal and a person without the influence on others but with the talent to lead a team will sure not be able to implement the qualities of a great leader to a group. Homer’s The Odyssey and Machiavelli’s The Prince are two books that both contain themes about power and leadership. Homer’s The Odyssey contains information about Odysseus’ leadership capabilities during his journey home to Ithaca and how he reacted on different situations that involve critical leadership decisions. It also contains the status of his leadership in his homeland and what kind of monarchy he has. On the other hand, Machiavelli’s The Prince gives out information and guidelines on what a Machiavellian leader should be and how he should react in different kinds of situations. It also contains different theories on how the structure of a monarchy affects a king’s superiority in his own kingdom. Throughout Odysseus’ journey, he made questionable decisions that contradict the teachings of Machiavelli. By not following the guidelines of Machiavelli on leadership and power management, as a result, Odysseus failed to lead his team safely back to Ithaca.

Bibliography: Balot, Ryan. Greek Political Thought. Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 32. Print. This text contains a thorough history of ancient Greek political thought. It examines different kinds of ancient text (e.g. The Odyssey) in order to clearly demonstrate the political thought and structure of ancient Greece during its time. It also studies the connection between politics and ethics in ancient Greece. Part of this text studies the tendencies of the noblemen to revolt against a ruler. Balot stated that the aristocrats often sought for political connection outside a king’s monarchy to gain additional political connection that could possibly help them attack their own government. It also contains Balot’s view of the situation in Ithaca when Odysseus power is inexistent. Balot stated that Odysseus existence as a king is the only thing that hinders the “less-restrained” aristocrats from doing what they wish to do in his land. Homer. The Odyssey of Homer. Trans. Richmond Lattimore. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1967. Print. The poem The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus’ journey back to his kingdom after the Trojan War. It describes the trials and the consequences that Odysseus had to go through trough out his journey. This text relates to my essay about “Power and Leadership” because it exhibits Odysseus’ leadership capabilities on different kinds of situations (e.g. Odysseus leadership in the island of the Cyclops) throughout his travel. This text is relevant to my argument because it contains incidents that required Odysseus to make leadership decisions. An example of these incidents is when he decided to wait for the Cyclops despite his crew members’ request of leaving the cave. By using these incidents in The Odyssey, it will help me apply the guidelines of Machiavelli on how a king should respond in different kinds of situations that required critical leadership decisions. Ledeen, Michael. Machiavelli on Modern Leadership. New York: Truman Talley Books and St. Martin 's Griffin, 1999. 112-149. Print. This book studies the lessons of Machiavelli on leadership and how they can be applied to modern politics. Michael A. Ledeen’s personal view on the importance of Machiavellian leadership will be used as a tool to back up my claims on why the consequences that Odysseus suffered throughout his journey were the results of his leadership decisions that contradicted the guidelines of Machiavelli. In one case in the book that indicates the importance of inserting fear in the people under one’s leadership, Leeden uses George Washington as an example by illustrating how the former U.S. president used his army to control the citizens who were against the idea of paying excise tax on their liquor. Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. Trans. Tim Parks. Great Britain: Penguin Books Ltd, 2009. Print. This book by Machiavelli instructs the readers of the guidelines of how a “Prince” should lead and overcome adversaries or conflicts the Machiavellian way. It relates to my topic of “Power and Leadership” because it contains ideologies of how leaders should react or demonstrate power when threatened by internal or foreign forces. This text also discusses different circumstances that could affect a king’s superiority in his kingdom. The effect of the political structure of a king’s kingdom is an example of the topics that are discussed in this text that could be applied to the circumstance of Odysseus kingdom, Ithaca. This text will be the basis of my judgement on the rights and wrongs of Odysseus’ leadership. It will also be the basis of my evaluation on what Odysseus should have and should have not done on different situations throughout his travel. Rose, Elihu. "The Anatomy of Mutiny." Sage. (1982): 572. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. <http://afs.sagepub.com/content/8/4/561.full.pdf>. This article by Rose studies the reasons of mutiny in the military. It also explains the different kinds of mutinies, how the process of mutiny starts and how to end it. It also contains examples of passed mutinies from sixteenth century French monarchy. This article is essential to the argument of why Odysseus’ inappropriate actions in the land of the Cyclopes have made his crewmen disappointed which led to the act of contempt of Eurylochus against him. Its explanation of how mutiny starts supports the argument that Odysseus’ action against the will of his crewmen is the primary reason why his subordinates rebel against his authority in their journey.