Achilles And Beowulf Comparison Essay

Both Beowulf and Achilles are poetic characters, who hail from different eras of history and different cultural backgrounds. While each is unique in his own way, the two heroes also share similar characteristics. This paper will compare and contrast the medieval Germanic hero Beowulf with the classical Greek hero Achilles (of Homer's Iliad), and show how the two are similar and how the two are different.

These two characters made incredible actions that influenced that their names were remember for a long time; Beowulf looks like any other warrior, he followed the code of a great warrior and also the code of the heroes, things that just a few people used to do but Beowulf had and special kind to be he was arrogant because he know the strong that he had and he did crazy things that always at the final those actions looks very intelligent for example when he fought with grandal, he decided to fight without armor because he wanted a right fight without to have advantage everybody thought that he was crazy but at the final they saw that it was very intelligent because grendel was immune to weapons so he only could be affected by normal hits like punch or kicks that was what Beowulf did. Achilles had a unique kind to be it was similar to the kind to be of Beowulf but it was not equal; Achilles was arrogant too but the difference between Beowulf and Achilles was that Achilles was more arrogant and he never did things that will not benefit to him in something.

audience. Beowulf, on the other hand, is characterized by the standards of an epic hero. He

     A comparison between Virgil's hero, Aeneas, and the Homeric heroes, Achilles and Odysseus, brings up the question concerning the relevance of the difference between the Homeric heroes and Aeneas. The differences in the poets' concerns are explained by the fact that Virgil lived many years after Homer, giving Virgil the advantage of a more developed literary and philosophical society than Homer had at his disposal. But the question remains: how are the differences between the Homeric heroes and Aeneas relevant to the epic at large? This question will be answered by first pointing out the differences between Greek and Roman society, then explaining

Heroes bring a hope to people whom they protect. Heroes bring people joy and bring a sense of relaxation to the people of their society because they play such an important role in lives everywhere. Heroes are complex rather than unembellished because they can fight dragons to defend their kingdom, or create a non-profit foundation to enhance the quality of life for more than 2,000 underprivileged kids. Heroes in our present day can be very complex because a person’s viewpoint on a hero’s life can be a completely different than the way another person looks at that same hero. Thomas Davis Sr. can be extremely comparable to Beowulf but they also have major differences.

The Epic of Gilgamesh and Beowulf contain everything we can expect from a great epic literature. It portrays fantastic geographies, exotic characters, exhausting quests, heroic battles with monsters, supernatural beings and natural forces. Most important of all, they are two outstanding stories of a great epic hero who is compelled to meet his destiny and who rises to every challenge with courage and determination.

Most of us have heard of modern day heroes such as Spiderman, Superman, and the Hulk. Each is a hero to many children. Heroes are introduced to people early on in life usually as fictional characters, but as children grow older their perceptions of heroes alter. The characteristics of a hero are usually based around the ideas of a society or culture. In the epic Beowulf, the main character is thought of as a hero. Beowulf, a pagan warrior and the main character of the epic, shows certain characteristics such as bravery, loyalty, and generosity, which portray him as a hero. It is interesting how modern day heroes show the much of the same qualities as Beowulf.

Beowulf, the hero of Beowulf, answers a foreign nations call for help and leaves his life of comfort in-order to help. Beowulf fights a monster named Grendel and after defeating him, stops Grendel’s mom’s rampage as well. Then years later, Beowulf confronts a dragon for the sake of his kingdom even though he knows he will die fighting the dragon. Similarly, a hero from a different time is Achilles. Achilles is a demigod, which means he is the son of a god. Achilles uses his god-like power for the Greeks in the Trojan war. Achilles cares deeply for this family and when his cousin dies, he challenges the Trojans mightiest warrior to avenge his loved one. After a duel, Achilles defeats Troy’s warrior and ensures the Greeks victory in the war. Although these two heroes may come from different time periods, they embody similar ideals and

Achilles on the other hand was a talented fighter who used his strengths to conquer and kill Hector, the man who killed his friend Patroclus. Achilles was powered by his emotions while Beowulf was powered by the thought of being famous and helping others to be a hero. Beowulf was full of himself, yet he was a good man. Achilles was not so high on himself, but more his

Beowulf and The Iliad are both famous works of literature that have been studied for hundreds of years. Both Beowulf and Achilles are great heroes in their Epics. An important component of these Heroic Epics are their heroes and their how the act. Beowulf always exhibits the traits that would make him an epic hero, and would never do anything dishonorable or that wasn not for the benefit of everyone around him, while Achilles had moments that made him look dishonorable and not heroic. Overall, Beowulf is the better hero because he never gave up and fought for God, while Achilles refused to fight and disrespected Greek traditions such as respecting fallen foes.

In the works, Beowulf and the Aeneid, the protagonists display Christian and Pagan ideologies, and relate them to every-day situations. As one analyzes the ideologies of the characters, it is clear that there are many similarities and differences. While the characters, Beowulf and Aeneas share similar characteristics in their biblical allusion, worshiping a deity or deities, and there courage in entering devil like situations, however they differ in their quest, Aeneas had a destiny to found Rome, while Beowulf was fulfilling a debt to Hrothgar. First, in the book the Aeneid it is clear that the story contains a quest to fulfill a destiny that the protagonist, Aeneas, was given from birth.

The two epic poems, Beowulf and The Iliad, of course, has two epic heroes. An epic hero goes on quests that will serve as a test of his or her character. In The Iliad, Achilles is the mightiest warrior the Greeks have. Achilles is tested throughout the epic with different things that prove what his pride and faith is. In the epic, Beowulf, your epic hero is Beowulf. Beowulf is a leader of a great tribe and throughout the epic of Beowulf, Beowulf is tested. In the modern times, between both epic heroes, Beowulf and Achilles, Beowulf is the better fit unlike Achilles.

Beowulf and Achilles are similar because they both win their battles and are very humble about it. Beowulf defeats Grendel and rips his arm off to hang as a trophy of the fight. Achilles slays Hector and denies the request to return his body to his family. They are also similar

One of the major differences in these two stories is the reason that the heroes are fighting in the first place. In “Beowulf” the hero is fighting to help people and to have a great and grand legacy behind his name opposed to in “The Iliad” the hero is fighting for revenge and is fighting through pure anger. Lines 109 through

A comparison of Homer’s Achilles and Virgil’s Aeneas brings up the question concerning what makes someone an epic hero. Although each poet lived in a dramatically different time period, with different literary integrity, Homer and Virgil each portray an epic hero using different development of the characters, but similar themes and influences. Achilles and Aeneas demonstrate that an epic hero will do whatever it takes to fulfill their duties while simultaneously displaying the difference between Greek and Roman Society. The question will be answered by first, analyzing the individual characteristics of Achilles, a merciless warrior, and Aeneas, a civilized leader, then