Epic Heroes In Beowulf, Achilles, And The Odyssey

Although The Iliad is known as an epic poem, the poem contrasts the conflict of war as the sole method to further understand wisdom in humanity. From the grief of the Greeks and the Trojans comes greater understanding of the price of war. According to “The Type of Stories Chart” the epic poem is categorized as a success story of Greeks in the Trojan war, but the poem sobers the success of the Greeks with the constant reminder of death in war. In

A courage that manages to slaughter mighty foes and monsters. Both heroes also fight for honor and they put their own honor when in battle. Both individuals don’t fight half-heartedly and they fight with all their might and strength. Achilles overpowered a formidable foe, Hector; in the same way, Beowulf killed Grendel. Achilles was a soldier with honor; in the same way, Beowulf’s attitude toward his comrade shows that he greatly values his honor and their respect.

Ancient Rome is recognized for strength in war and battles, so the ideal citizen would be strong and willing to fight. Hunt explains that in Rome “one man’s loss was another man’s gain” (177). The culture of Ancient Rome was aggressive, as the men were trained to fight and be devoted to their country. “Male elites had to be on guard to defend against and avenge any slights to their personal, family, and state honor” (Hunt 177). In The Aeneid, Virgil writes “Roman, remember by your strength to rule // Earth’s peoples-for your arts are to be these: // To pacify, to impose the rule of the law, // To spare the conquered, battle down the proud.” As Aeneas is looking at the fate of Rome in the underworld (1151-1154).

The Iliad, a poem written by Homer, almost 3000 years ago is known as a classic in the world of English literature today. This epic poems storyline revolves around the Trojan War fought between the Trojans and Greeks. Many characters are introduced throughout The Iliad, but there are two characters that stand out from the rest. These two archetypal characters represent and embodies the values their society admires and aspires to. These heroes follow the heroic code, a code which consists of having qualities of a leader, fighting for arete, and having the ability to accept his fate.

Flaws by Contrast Comparisons and contrasts play a huge role in literary works, especially between characters. Not only do they show similarities and differences between various characters, but they also bring out specific qualities that make a character unique and help guide the readers towards a common conclusion. In the popular Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist and hero, Beowulf, is emphasized for his extraordinary greatness. Throughout his story, he, as an advocate of good, encounters many opposing forces in the form of other characters. In a society where heroism and bravery are honored as essential aspects of culture, the contrasting values of these characters, or foils, help define Beowulf as the model hero.

Odysseus is the protagonist of the epic poem by Homer, The Odyssey, known as the great epic hero, but how exactly do we know that Odysseus is an epic hero? One reason I believe that Odysseus is indeed an epic hero is that there were gods that were on Odysseus’ side and helping him on his way. Additionally, Odysseus experienced many exceptional adventures and hardship from his journey. Lastly, something epic heroes have that Odysseus shares in common is that he has beneficial characteristics such as confidence, courage, loyalty, and intelligence. These all help state the fact that Odysseus in The Odyssey is an epic hero.

In this compare and contrast essay we will focus on two literature-linked heroes from the Iliad, Achilles and Beowulf. Both are considered as true heroes in the eyes of many, having super natural strength and immense courage when facing evil shows how much of a larger than life heroic-figures they are. We can kickoff this essay by comparing our two literature linked heroes. both Beowulf and Achilles possess certain attributes that would condemn them as superhuman, both are somehow lead to their downfall by self-inflicted fatal flaws, which will be mentioned further into our essay. So, the main focal point for each character is their possession of a wide range of enviable masculine powers.

Achilles, in the epic Illiad, shows the trait of being unforgiving. Achilles shows unforgivingness when the death of Patroclus, his good friend, causes Achilles to only become more enraged except this time points his anger toward Hector, his enemy. Despite the differences in the two heroes of the epic poems, they do have some similarities in the traits they display. For example both characters show the trait bravery and cunning in battle. When Beowulf proceeds to fight Grendel he portrays bravery by sacrificing his own men before fighting Beowulf himself.

Odysseus, King of Ithaca was categorized as an epic hero. It is clear why he is described this way, and all in all, understandable because the ancient greeks valued different qualities in people and heroes a person would nowadays. For this reason, Odysseus could be seen as a hero in the eyes of the ancient greeks but not in the eyes of people today. The greeks during Homer’s time chose to ignore his traits that people today would see as major flaws. Despite all of this however, Odysseus from The Odyssey by Homer, was and is the epic hero that the greeks saw him as.

“Then he saw a blade that blooded well, a sword in her armoury, an ancient heirloom from the days of the giants, an ideal weapon, one that any warrior would envy” (1557-1560). Beowulf lack of humility for Grendel’s mom cost him this time and he has to use someone else’s sword to kill his enemy instead of his own, with who he killed huge sea creatures and Grendel. Humility nearly antagonize what courage is, but they both are equally important and go hand in hand in any super heroes life whether it’s today or during Anglo-Saxon period. Humility is an honorable trait that can be acquired only through age and