We can learn a lot from Odysseus...

05:13:00 28.02.2026

We can learn a lot from Odysseus. When he returned to his homeland, Ithaca, after being away for 20 years and learned that a group of freeloading scoundrels had seized his palace and were plundering its interior while abusing the palace servants, he immediately understood what needed to be done—but he did not rush. He did not immediately take up the bow and arrow to impulsively take revenge. He decided to adopt a more stoic approach. He assumed the guise of a “poor” old man so that none of these bandits would recognize him, and from close up, he observed how they were turning his entire estate upside down. Not knowing who he was, the bandits mocked and insulted him, but Odysseus did not want to waste time on each individual hooligan. He wanted to devise a larger plan—a plan through which, at the right moment and under the right circumstances, everyone would be punished.

Odysseus continued to be patient, singled out those who had remained loyal to him, and developed that plan. Once everything was organized, he finally decided to act. Gathering them all in one hall, he ruthlessly sent them all straight to hell, cleansing his palace of those scoundrels who had for years corrupted and defiled his world. Odysseus was a wise warrior-king and understood that dealing with those scoundrels in a gentler way was impossible. He took that decisive action because it was the only correct and just solution for the situation.

When Homer wrote The Odyssey, he did not only teach us history. He also gave a very important lesson about patience, patriotism, organization, reason, decisiveness, vengeance, and justice—lessons that must never be forgotten...