Beyond the Boundaries of Fantasia: An ancient imagining of the future of leadership

Problem: the leader is inattentive to, or unfeeling toward, the suffering of his/her followers

PROBLEM

The leader is inattentive to, or unfeeling toward, the suffering of his/her followers.

In Iliad One it is Achilles, rather than Agamemnon, who summons the assembly to remedy the suffering from Apollo's plague.

WHY it's a problem

The followers may lose morale if they believe their leader does not care for them, and the followers may not be able to perform well if they are not well cared for.

QUESTIONS to consider

We generally expect a leader to care for his/her followers to some degree; but Is it possible for the leader to be so sensitive to the suffering of the followers that he/she is too stressed out, anxious, or grieving to lead effectively?

Compare how Jason, leader of the Argonauts in quest for the Golden Fleece, feels about his leadership responsibility:

But Jason with gentle words addressed him in reply:

"Tiphys, why dost thou comfort thus my grieving heart? I have erred and am distraught in wretched and helpless ruin. For I ought, when Pelias gave the command, to have straightway refused this quest to his face, yea, though I were doomed to die pitilessly, torn limb from limb, but now I am wrapped in excessive fear and cares unbearable, dreading to sail through the chilling paths of the sea, and dreading when we shall set foot on the mainland. For on every side are unkindly men. And ever when day is done I pass a night of groans from the time when ye first gathered together for my sake, while I take thought for all things; but thou talkest at thine ease, eating only for thine own life; while for myself I am dismayed not a whit; but I fear for this man and for that equally, and for thee, and for my other comrades, if I shall not bring you back safe to the land of Hellas" (Apollonius Argonautica 2.619-638, translation Seaton).

Compare also Oedipus to the citizens of Thebes:

My poor children, I know why you have come—
I am not ignorant of what you yearn for.
For I understand that you are ill, and yet,                                                                   
sick as you are, there is not one of you                                             
whose illness equals mine. Your agony
comes to each one of you as his alone,
a special pain for him and no one else.
But here in my heart, I sorrow for myself,
and for the city, and for you—all together.

You are not rousing me from a deep sleep.
You must know I’ve been shedding many tears
and, in my wandering thoughts, exploring
many pathways.

(Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus, 59-65, translation Ian Johnston)

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