Odyssey/Aeneid: Actions of Odysseus and Aeneas

In both Homer’s “Odyssey” and Virgil’s “Aeneid”, (repeat/rephrase question). Each character’s decision-making and actions reflects their personalities, as well as their successes and failures in leadership.

Odysseus is a complicated character whose actions, while sometimes honourable, often disregard the needs of those around him. In Episode 12 of the Odyssey, there is an example of Odysseus’ questionable decision making. After spending a year on Circe’s island, Odysseus and his men decide to depart from Aeaea after visiting the Underworld. Circe advises Odysseus to plug his and his men’s’ ears with beeswax as they pass through the Sirens’ territory. Knowing that he and the crew will have to travel through the straits where Scylla and Charybdis lie- Circe directs Odysseus to sacrifice 6 men rather than risk fighting them. She also tells Odysseus to not wear his “famous armour”.

At first, Odysseus listens to Circe’s advice- demonstrating his cautious leadership. He orders his men to plug their ears and has them tie him to the mast of the ship. However, when they start to cross the strait where Scylla- a six-headed, man-eating monster, and Charybdis- a ship-swallowing whirlpool reside, Odysseus makes a terrible decision. Recalling Circe’s “irksome instruction” to not arm himself, he puts his armour on and readies multiple spears. Here he potentially risks his men’s safety and puts them in considerable danger. Odysseus’ hubris leads him to believe that he knows more than Circe- an intelligent sorceress. His order to his men to tie him to the mast of the ship is also reckless and a sign of poor leadership- considering that there was no guarantee that his men wouldn’t untie him if he ordered them to.

However, there are some instances where Odysseus actions and decision making demonstrates his prowess as a great leader. One example of which is in Episode 9, when Odysseus’ and crew visit the island of the Cyclops. Odysseus and his men become trapped in the cyclops Polyphemus’ cave after entering to search for riches. Showing excellent leadership and quick-thinking, Odysseus immediately comes up with a plan. He befriends Polyphemus, not even batting an eye when the cyclops eats his men at nightime. Odysseus offers Polyphemus some wine and gets him to fall into a drunken stupor, where then he and his men sharpen a large olive tree log, heat it over a fire and plunge it into the cyclops’ one large eye. This blinds him, so Odysseus and his men are able to escape by hiding under the bellies of sheep and a ram.

His plan was executed perfectly- demonstrating Odysseus excellent decision-making as a leader. However, within this moment of greatness, is also a moment of failure. Earlier, when Odysseus had befriended Polyphemus he told him that his name was “Nobody”- so when Polyphemus would call for help he would say: “it’s Nobody…that is doing me to death.” This was another clever decision made by Odysseus. But when he and his men are sailing away he reveals his true name to Polyphemus. Little did Odysseus know that Polyphemus was the son of Poseidon, and that Poseidon would feel so wronged by what he did that he made the rest of Odysseus and his men’s journey home a living hell. Once again, Odysseus’ action of hubris and ego infringed the safety and wellbeing of his men- and only benefitted his own interest.

Contrasting Odysseus, Aeneas’ leadership and decision-making is more directed by his followers interests and wellbeing- as well as the future of his people. This can been seen within Episode 2- the fall of Troy. Troy is Aeneas’ home. While Odysseus tries to return home, Aeneas has to flee his. His leaving home behind is driven by a sense of duty to his people and the divine mission he was assigned to found a new city. Aeneas witnesses many atrocities when leaving Troy- such as murder of Priam by Neoptolemus. His wife, Creusa, sadly dies, and appears to him as a ghostly apparition telling him he must go and start his journey without her. When Aeneas’ father, Anchises, says for Aeneas to go on without him, Aeneas refuses, consoling his father by saying: “Whatever lot awaits us, there shall be One danger and one safety for us both.” As he leaves Troy, he carries his father on his shoulders and holds his child, Iulus’ hand, symbolising Aeneas guiding the future of the Trojans. Already- Aeneas shows signs of a leader who cares for his people, and is driven to better the lives of the people he leads. This shows that unlike Odysseus, Aeneas cares for the collective and not his own interests.

Another example which demonstrates Aeneas’ leadership in decision-making is in Episode 4. In this episode, Dido, the queen of Carthage, falls deeper in love with Aeneas after being struck with Cupid’s arrow. Aeneas also feels affection for her too, becoming her lover for a while. Jupiter however has commanded him to continue his mission of founding a new city for his people. Aeneas must choose between a life with Dido, or travelling for an unknown time never knowing when he’ll truly reach the sacred place for his people. Despite the emotional and romantic pull, Aeneas ultimately decides to leave Dido. He even wanted to “calm and console her grief”, but returns to his men and his fleet. While he knows it will break her heart- he puts his peoples’ future first, showing his maturity as a leader. Compare this to Odysseus, who spent an entire year on Circe’s island to continue his affair with her and made no progress on his journey. This decision underlines his commitment to duty, even at the cost of personal suffering.

In contrast to Odysseus, Aeneas rarely wavers in his sense of responsibility towards the collective interest. Aeneas is pious, dutiful and driven- pushed forward by the cause to protect his people. Odysseus is fueled by self-interest- his main goal to reach home and be reunited with his family, not really concerned with the wellness or mortality of his men. In both Homer’s “Odyssey” and Virgil’s “Aeneid”, Odysseus and Aeneid…(repeat/rephrase Q).