Odysseus is in charge of twelve ships when he embarks on his journey towards Ithaca. There are many situations where Odysseus acts either as a good leader and a one who lacks the discipline to lead successfully. There are many reasons why Odysseus is seen as a good leader. Odysseus was religious, believing in the power of the Greek Gods to control destiny and fate. This sets a good example for his men to follow. In book nine of the Odyssey he often talks about gods and nymphs. One of these being "some god must have guided us here through the murky night," and also "presently the Nymphs, those children of Zeus, set the mountain goats on the move to ensure my companions a meal." Odysseus is an intelligent and clever which allows him to think of great tactics and plans. His tactics were very good on the Lotus-eater Island because he only sends three men to investigate the Island and when they failed to return because they ate the lotus flowers, which put them into a forgetful trance, Odysseus went and physically forced them to leave with him. Odysseus also tries his best to save his men. On the island of the Cyclops he thought of a cunning plan to get most of his men out of the cave that they were trapped in. This makes Odysseus a good leader because he cares about his people and he wants to lead them to safety. Odysseus is good at analyzing things and then creates the perfect plan so that nothing goes wrong. In the Odyssey, he and his crew go into a cave to rest. While there, Polyphemus, who is Poseidon's son, traps Odysseus and his crew inside the cave. At one point, Odysseus has a chance to kill him with his sword, but realizes that if he does so they could be trapped forever because they would not be able to move the stone away. He then comes up with a well thought out plan. Odysseus thinks to himself, "And now I pondered how to hurt him worse, if but Athena granted what I prayed for." Then he creates a plan to get Polyphemus drunk