Similarities And Differences Between Beowulf And Achilles

The battles scenes are similar in that they all add to the progression of Beowulf’s complex character. In the fight with Grendel it seems as if he has this godlike power when he goes after Grendel. “The captain of evil discovered himself in a handgrip harder than anything he had ever encountered in any man on the face of the earth,” (lines 750-2). When battling Grendel’s mother however he seems weaker because he needed a weapon to kill her. He had said earlier that he “… placed complete trust in his strength of limb and the Lord’s favor,” (lines 669-670). It indicates that Beowulf isn’t as immortal as everyone thinks he is. In the last battle, against the dragon, Beowulf is dressed in full armor and brings a small army with him implying that his enemy is stronger than any others he has faced before. “… I shall be meeting molten venom in the fire he breathes, so I go forth in mail-shirt and shield,” (lines 2522-24). These battles provide Beowulf with huge responsibilities, each getting bigger. Each showing that his mortal being can’t win against the most immortal being. Heroes can have their moments, but in the end they can’t win all the

     Beowulf possessed great strength that separated him from other men. Being able to use a sword that no ordinary man was able to carry gives the feeling that Beowulf is something more than a human being. It makes him special and causes him to stand out from all other men. Fame is something that makes a hero more noted. Beowulf’s popularity

Secondly, Beowulf is daring and wild like Spider-Man. Beowulf is daring in many ways, and is not afraid to try new things and take risks. Beowulf will do whatever he has to in order to keep his country safe including going into a lake full of monsters. As stated in the book, “He leaped into the lake…” (Raffel, 1963, l.467). Spider-Man is different from Beowulf, in the fact that he can swing from building to building using webs that come from his fingers. Beowulf and Spider-Man are similar by the risks they take. Beowulf takes many risks to save his country. “Beowulf resolves to kill Grendel’s monstrous mother…” (Raffel, 1963, p.52). Beowulf is daring and takes many risks.

Beowulf is a hero in the eyes of his fellow men through his amazing physical strength. He fought in numerous battles and returned victorious

Just the way they take care of their business is completely different but very interesting. They are also strong but in different areas. Bravery is something that most heroes in our society have to have. Beowulf has so much bravery it’s crazy you could tell he was meant to be a warrior from the day he was born. I think Beowulf has so much bravery because just the way he carries himself.

Although one fights by themselves and the other fights with many, they are unknowing of the outcome. Beowulf is fighting heads up, whereas the soldiers don’t have one specific target. Does this make one better than the other? Certainly not, but then again I’m not sure I wouldn’t be a little more comfortable knowing that I had the strength of thirty men in my hand such as Beowulf.

The story of Beowulf is one of a great hero. Beowulf is a very generous person who is always willing to help out when people are in need. Over the course of the story, Beowulf ends up in three major battles: the battle with Grendel, with Grendel’s mother, and with the dragon. All of these battles were different in their style and the way Beowulf approached them was different. Beowulf also had different reasons to participate in each of the battles.

Starting as a warrior and later becoming the king, Beowulf left behind a legacy. Beowulf portrays many traits of a hero. According to the Beowulf History Channel documentary, implies that he was a “superhuman” (History Doc.). Beowulf was known as “the strongest of the Geats” (Beowulf 195). According to the epic Beowulf, Beowulf was “stronger than anyone anywhere”(194). He was like no other anywhere else. Beowulf was not scared of battle, and felt like the best way to die was in battle.Beowulf was fearless. He voluntarily put himself in danger in order to protect his people and friends. Beowulf sailed across the sea to Denmark “in friendship” to

King Arthur and Beowulf are both heroes in their stories which causes them to have many similarities in their traits but, they have differences in their traits as well. Arthur and Beowulf are both courageous leaders. They fight fearlessly for themselves and their people in battle. A difference between Arthur and Beowulf is their ability to depend on others. Arthur depends on others many times in The Once and Future King while Beowulf depends only on himself in Beowulf. Despite the differences, Beowulf and Arthur still have many things in common such as their wisdom. Both men are wise and make incisive decisions in battle and in leading. Their wisdom on the battlefield is a heroic trait that both men possess. Another heroic trait that they share is their courageousness.

Achilles and Beowulf both had an abundance amount of acts of bravery. That is the strongest trait that they share. They never cared how dangerous a situation might have been, they always went in for the kill. “Achilles glazed in wonder at the splendid king, and his

Beowulf exhibits many obvious heroic qualities, such as his strength and confidence in battle. These along with more subtle diplomatic actions serve to define him as both a great warrior and leader.

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.

The first way in which both characters are similar is in the fact that they both travel from great distances to take part in a battle against some evil. In the medieval Germanic epic, Beowulf leaves his people the Geats of Scandinavia to help Hrothgar, the king of the Danish people, to kill Grendel, a monster who attacks the king's hall and devours the king's men. Beowulf slays Grendel but then must challenge Grendel's mother in order to restore Hrothgar's kingdom to safety. Likewise, Achilles joins the other Greeks and travels to Troy to do battle against Paris, Hector and the other Trojans for having abducted Helen, the wife of Menelaus. Achilles performs many heroic deeds on the battleground and adds renown to his name among the Greeks.

While these Epic Heroes mainly fought for glory, how they achieved it is what sets them apart. Beowulf vanquished evil such as Grendel and Grendel’s Mother for the Danes to achieve his glory; “he’d [Beowulf] go to that famous king, would sail across the sea to Hrothgar, now when help was needed” (Beowulf 114-116). This was a noble way to achieve glory because this helped everyone, not only the Geats. Beowulf also defended his people, slaying a dragon in his old age even if it would cause his death. Achilles achieved his glory by slaying men such as Hector and many other trojans out of revenge for Patroclus, and it is clear that Achilles fights for revenge: “You'll pay the reckoning in full for all the pain my men have borne”, (Homer 99-100). The war he fought in was over a woman, not fighting against evil like in the

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