Similarities Between Beowulf And Achilles

850 Words2 Pages

All men naturally seek heroes We intuitively sense our incompleteness, which results in an innate anxiety.
A hero is someone that is able to lead this people into battle or just to safety. He has bravery, courage, and charisma as characteristics that everyone likes. He is able to not just think about himself but for other people also. Beowulf and Achilles are these types of heroes, who teach the reader their shared values and lessons in their action they portray in each of their epic poems. However, each hero has is own values he follows, thus creating a hero who is celebrated for what they represent to the society.
Beowulf is the king of geats, where he fights monsters for a living, he is called to defeat Grendel, a horrific monster who terrifies Herrot. Beowulf was born with hell-forged hands giving him strength and with that strength he …show more content…

One value they share is the fact that they are both courageous. They are willing to lead from the front and not just give orders. They respect their men and their men follow them. For example, Achilles takes the fight to Hector after patroculus dies, not knowing who the better warrior is. No one would dare take on Hector as he was the champion of troy. Achilles, without thinking finds Hector and challenges him to a duel Similarly, to Beowulf when he takes on Grendel without sword or shield, his men still follow him into battle and he takes on a monster with bare hell-forged hands. Another similarity these heroes share is that they will fight for glory. Achilles leaves for Troy with only one thing on his mind and that is to have his named remembered throughout history. He is willing to die to be remembered as a hero. In a similar way, Beowulf sets out to the land of the Danes for glory since there is no monster Beowulf cannot slay. These two heroes are very similar to one another, even though they are in two different stories with different

Open Document