preview

How Are Beowulf And Achilles Alike

Good Essays
Open Document

Beowulf and Achilles Beowulf is a story about a man named Beowulf who desired fame and fortune in life. The Iliad had a character named Achilles who is similar to Beowulf because he also desired glory. But they are two completely different stories written at different times and different places by different people. Both stories have unique qualities such as dragons in one and multi-gods in the other and that is what makes fictitious stories like these classics. Since achieving fame is a goal of these two characters, and since these are great works of literature, people can relate to wanting to be famous in life. So this essay is about Beowulf and Achilles and what they went through to be famous and also what they went through to …show more content…

After Hector’s death, Achilles would drag the body every morning around his army base three times to show the accomplishment he had made in the war. The gods didn’t really agree with him though because they kept healing Hector’s body (not back to life though). “...All his wounds sealed shut, wherever they struck... and many drove their bronze blades through his body”. Eventually, Priam (with help of gods) got Achilles to sell Hector’s body back for a bunch of priceless goods. “Give (Hector) back to me, now, no more delay – I must see my son with my own eyes” (The Iliad, ln 650 – 651, p 212). Being begged by a king increases his fame just because a king doesn’t usually do that, especially in this case. Priam gets the body and buries it and that’s the end of The Iliad.

Whereas in Beowulf, written by an anonymous poet, is about a man who is very strong. He travels to a distant land to kill a couple monsters and earn glory for himself. The quest begins when Beowulf heads to the Danish castle. He is a Geat by the way. His king is Higlac and Beowulf asked him if he could travel the seas to earn glory for himself by helping out the Danish and their king, Hrothgar. When Beowulf finally got to Hrothgar, Hrothgar was glad to see him; he seemed to have a lot of faith in Beowulf. “Our Holy Father has sent him as a sign of His grace, a mark of His favor, to help us defeat Grendel and end that terror” (Beowulf, ln 381 – 384). The monster, Grendel, had

Get Access