7/24/2019 Term Paper 1 (Leadership Perspectives From Homer's Iliad)

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Term Paper

Student name: Sayed Anwar ShahCourse: Organizational Leadership (MGT 41!Semester: "all #1$

%nstru&tor: 'r Su)atha Chandarlapaty'ate o* su+mission: ## ,o-em+er #1$

Perspectives on Leadership from Homers Iliad

A.ST/ACT

This paper aims to situate an analyti&al spotlight on the leadership

ar&hetypes that 0omers %liad presents portraying how the de&isions made

+y leaders &an impa&t those &on&erned The whole pie&e o* the literature

re-ol-es around the dis&ussion o* what the role o* a leader ought to +e: a

shepherd o* the people or the destroyer o* the people And it is this -ery

0omeri& phrase that de2nes the s&ope and the *o&al point o* this paper

%,T/O'3CT%O,

The art o* leadership is not an in-ention o* the modern time "rom time

immemorial men ha-e possessed the a+ility to dire&t other men towards the

attainment o* -arious so&ial and politi&al goals -en in the primiti-e times5

the early human an&estors would rely on the guidan&e o* the more daring

and more intelligent ones amongst them to 2nd new ways o* sur-i-ing in the

harshest &onditions that pre-ailed on the nas&ent earth millions o* years ago

6hile some may argue that the art o* leadership has matured and re2ned to

a signi2&ant degree and in *a&t up to the stage where it is impossi+le to draw

a &omparison +etween how leadership is maneu-ered today and the way it

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was pra&ti&ed in the an&ient times5 one &annot deny that its essen&e remains

the same The art o* leadership today &ontinues to +e in7uen&ed +y almost

the same moti-es that shaped its -arious *orms thousands o* years ago5 that

is5 the desire *or responsi+ility5 a&hie-ement and power Leaders today also

share more or less the same &hara&teristi&s and traits that were typi&al o*

their an&ient &ounterparts 0en&e5 the history &an pro-ide a strong

+en&hmar8 against whi&h we &an measure and e-aluate the styles o*

leadership that are &ommon today A +eauti*ul sour&e o* su&h a histori&

+en&hmar8 is presented +y *amous Gree8 author 0omer in his epi& poem the

%liad 6ritten o-er two and a hal* thousand years ago5 this an&ient Gree8 epi&

poem holds in it -ery pra&ti&al lessons a+out leadership that are timelessly

true and may well +e used as a ri&h sour&e o* guidan&e *or modern day

leaders That said5 our *o&us in this paper will +e to answer the 9uestion

whether there are lessons the modern day leaders &an learn *rom the %liad

and the answer is in the armati-e

0OM/S LA'/S

0omer uses all o* his heroes to show -arious 9ualities o* leadership All o* the

Gree8 &hie*tans lead a group o* warriors5 yet ea&h is di;erent atro&lus and his +eha-ior with the +ody o* 0e&tor is repulsi-e to the gods

and the Tro)ans? (Allinson!

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leadership is *o&used on his hurt pride at his wi*e +eing in Troy instead o* in

Sparta with him? (.utler ##!

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&ondition that one o* his allies and &ommanders5 A&hilles5 gi-es him his

prize another &aptured Tro)an girl in &ompensation (.en*ey DE!

The a+o-e instan&e summarized +y .en*ey in his +oo8 War and the Iliad

&learly illustrates the un2t leadership traits ehi+ited +y Agamemnon The

*a&t that he *or&e*ully ta8es a Tro)an girl as his prize is a re7e&tion o* his low

moral standards 0is re*usal to return the girl to her *ather despite his

&ontinued +egging and pleading *urther pro-es his indi;eren&e to the moral

&on&erns o* other people he deals with %n *a&t5 when the priest is +egging *or

his daughters return5 e-en the troops that Agamemnon is in &harge o* are

heard muttering

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0omers Agamemnon eempli2es leaders who are -oid o* what .ritish

>ro*essor o* Classi&al Literature Fasper Grin &alls

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6or8s Cited

Allinson5 Sydney"Homer's Greek Epic Ofers Leadership Lessons or Modern

Warriors." 1 Fanuary #H Armed "or&es Fournal1 ,o-em+er #1$

Ihttp:JJwwwarmed*or&es)ournal&omJhomersBgree8Bepi&Bo;ersBleadershipBlessonsB*orBmodernBwarriorsJK

'ue5 Casey "Learning Lessons rom the Troan War! riseis and the Theme o

#orce."College Literature 4# (#H!: ##B#E#

Fohnston5 %an "The Iliad"August #$ FohnStonia "riday ,o-em+er #1$

Ihttps:JJre&ords-iu&aJ)ohnstoiJhomerJiliadessayEhtmK

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enyon5 F "$e%ate! Who is a etter Leader! Hector or &chilles"'e+ates

Ners le&troni& 1$ "e+ruary #1 Tuesday ,o-em+er #1$

Ihttp:JJwwwde+ateorgJde+atesJ0e&torBisBaB+etterBleaderBthanBA&hillesBinB

theB+oo8BTheB%liadB+yB0omerJ1JK

Salis+ury5 /o+ert F "Leadership"1 Fune #1$ The Allazo Group 1,o-em+er #1$ Ihttp:JJwwwallazogroup&omJleadershipBinBtheBiliadB

a&hillesBrageBwasBa&hillesBheelJK

Stuart5 Louis "Timeless Lessons rom Homer's Iliad"/eturn o* ings Ners

le&troni& # May #1$ Tuesday ,o-em+er #1$

Ihttp:JJwwwreturno*8ings&omJE#E#EJ4BtimelessBlessonsB*romBhomersB

iliadK

Shay5 'r Fonathan "#rom Tro( to aghdad."The Military 1D (##!: 11DB14

"Leadership Lessons rom Homer."San "ran&is&o: np5 nd

.utler5 S The%liad o Homer Trans 1DDLondon: Longmans

0olo8a5 F )imone Weil*s The%liad or The +oem o #orce! & ,ritical Edition.5ed #,ew Por8: > Lang

Lata&z5 F Tro( and Homer! To-ards a )oltion o an Old M(ster(.Trans 6indle and / %reland #4 O*ord: O*ord 3ni-ersity >ress

Grin5 F Homer on Lie and $eath.1D O*ord: O*ord 3ni-ersity >ress

Goldhill5 S /eading Greek Traged(.1DE Cam+ridge: Cam+ridge 3ni-ersity

>ress

Anderson5 M F The #all o Tro( in Earl( Greek +oetr( and &rt.1H O*ord:O*ord 3ni-ersity >ress

.en*ey5 C.0 War and the Iliad.ed #$ ,ew Por8: ,ew Por8 /e-iew .oo8s