Comparing Hercules, Beowulf, And Cuchulain

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Heroes in ancient times were held to a different standard than modern day heroes. Ancient heroes were valued for their god like attributes that humans today do not possess. These attributes, or traits, include courage, ambition, and strength. Whereas our heroes today are valued for how well they protect us and risk themselves for the greater good. Heroes in any timeline are seen as strong human or god like creatures that protect and fight for what is right. The three heroes I will be focusing on include; Hercules, Beowulf, and Cuchulain. Hercules is renowned for his incredible strength and bravery, he rises to Olympus after death. Beowulf’s boats and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. Lastly Cuchulain, who is a great Irish hero, he was a warrior at the age of seven for the King of Ulster. All of three of these heroes portray these three traits throughout their stories, legends, fables and more.
Courage proved to be a great addition to any hero. Modern day heroes use their courageous attributes to protect other people. While ancient heroes used their courage to …show more content…

Hercules showed strength by completing task no one was ever meant to complete and Beowulf showed courage by fighting a battle that no one has won. Cuchulain was a young boy with many traits that proved to be useful, his courageousness was what helped him gain the favor of the king and Culann. As a result of his non humanlike strength he killed a beloved guard dog of Culann. He portrayed great heroic courage by telling Culann, “[He’ll] train one of the pups to replace the dog,” For now, “[He’ll] do [Culann’s] dogs work until the pup is trained,” (page: 131-132). The dog’s job was to protect the cattle and to protect the land. This is a hard job for a dog, let alone a human being, but Cuchulain raised to the occasion and took responsibility for his actions resulting in him having great

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