What Does Odysseus Do on the Island of the Cicones That Best Shows the Trait of Leadership?
After his men sack the city of the Cicones, Odysseus urges them to abandon the plunder and get back to the ships to sail away quickly before the enemy regroups. Prioritizing his crew's safety over more loot best shows his leadership.
The answer
In Book IX of Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus and his men raid Ismarus, the city of the Cicones, plundering it and taking spoils. The moment that best shows leadership is when Odysseus, sensing the danger, orders his men to stop feasting and looting on the beach and return at once to the ships so they can escape before the Cicones counterattack.
Odysseus himself says he urged them "with a rapid marching order" to pull out, but the men—drunk on wine and giddy with plunder—refused. While they lingered, the Cicones went inland, rallied reinforcements, and struck back at dawn, killing six men from each of Odysseus's ships. His foresight was correct; his men's failure to obey proved the cost of ignoring good leadership.
So the trait on display is a leader's foresight and concern for his crew's survival over short-term greed—recognizing risk early and trying to act decisively to protect the group.
Why the other options are wrong
Exam versions of this question usually offer distractors like these:
- "He leads the attack and plunders the city." Raiding a town shows boldness or greed, not leadership in the ethical sense the question asks about—and it is the very action that endangers his men.
- "He divides the spoils equally among his men." Homer does mention fair division of plunder elsewhere, but on the island of the Cicones it is not the moment that best demonstrates leadership, and it is not what averts (or would have averted) disaster.
- "He fights bravely against the Cicones." Courage in the battle that follows is real, but the fight only happens because the men ignored his order to leave. Bravery in a battle he tried to avoid is not the clearest example of leadership; the clearest is his attempt to prevent it.
The key is the word leadership—guiding the group wisely toward safety. Only urging a swift retreat fits.
The bigger picture
The Cicones episode is the first stop on Odysseus's journey home and works as a lesson. It shows Odysseus's strengths—strategic foresight and care for his crew—but also foreshadows the recurring problem that dooms his voyage: his men's lack of discipline and self-control. Time and again (the bag of winds, the cattle of Helios) the crew's greed or curiosity overrides Odysseus's judgment and brings disaster.
For Odysseus himself, the lesson is about the limits of leadership: a leader can give the right order, but success also depends on followers who obey. The episode plants the theme of temptation versus discipline that runs through the whole epic, and it marks the beginning of the losses that leave Odysseus, eventually, the sole survivor.
| He orders his men back to the ships to leave quickly | Foresees the Cicones regrouping and tries to get his crew to safety before more loot costs lives | Yes — foresight and protecting the crew |
| He leads the raid and plunders Ismarus | Attacks and takes spoils | No — boldness/greed; this is what endangers them |
| He divides the plunder equally | Shares spoils among the men | No — fairness, but not the leadership moment here |
| He fights bravely when the Cicones attack | Battles the counterattack at dawn | No — courage, but only because his order was ignored |
Frequently asked
What happens to Odysseus on the island of the Cicones?
Odysseus and his men sack the city of Ismarus and take plunder. When his men refuse to leave and instead feast on the shore, the Cicones summon reinforcements and attack at dawn, killing six men from each of his ships.
Why did Odysseus's men refuse to leave the Cicones?
They were drunk on the wine they had seized and too greedy for more plunder. Ignoring Odysseus's order to sail away, they lingered on the beach, which gave the Cicones time to regroup and counterattack.
What leadership traits does Odysseus show in the Odyssey?
He shows foresight, strategic thinking, and concern for his crew's survival, along with courage and cunning. At the Cicones he demonstrates foresight by urging a quick departure before the enemy can regroup.
What lesson does the Cicones episode teach Odysseus?
It teaches that a leader's wise orders are useless without disciplined followers. His men's greed and disobedience cause needless deaths, foreshadowing the crew's later failures that doom the voyage home.