As we all know, the definition of a hero is described as, "A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities." In the epic "Odyssey" written by Homer, Odyessus's 10 year journey home is shown throughout the story. It starts off with Odysseus in Troy after the Trojan War, and then continues with his journey home. It is a rough, long journey with 16 stops and challenges. Throughout the entirety of this epic, Odysseus shows the difference between his hero qualities and his zero qualities. "Fight your way out, or run for it, if you think you'll escape death I doubt one man of your skins by," (OD 22.1285-1287). My paper will highlight the three examples of how Odysseus acts as a zero-villain. First off, Odysseus sacrifices his men to find out what the lotus eater is. Then continues to his return home, which results in him killing his village of men after abandoning them for 20 years. My last example revolves around his unethical behavior towards his wife. …show more content…
However, he wants to come home the only man capable of surviving the gods. In his words, he is a "force to be reckoned with". Therefore he doesn't feel the need to sacrifice his own self for his men, but necessitates his men's ability to get him home. Odysseus states, "Then I sent out two picked men and a runner to learn what race of men that land sustained," (OD.9.203-204). Instead of checking out the poisonous lotus for himself, he decides to put his men in danger for his own sake of survival. This validates my point about declaring Odysseus as a zero rather than a