Beowulf And Achilles Comparison Essay

When tales are told of valiant heroes in history, a handful stand out as some of the most well-known and revered of them all. Although the two in the title are not as famous as Superman or Spiderman, this does not make their tale any less epic. Both Achilles and Beowulf brought a new style of hero to the table. The two heroes had their flaws, however paid it back in spades with the bravery displayed in their respective epics. What is interesting about these two heroes is that their stories were written in completely different time periods, by peoples who were geographically extremely far apart. Beowulf was written in the estimated early eighth century in Denmark, while The Iliad, Achilles tale, was written by Homer many millennia ago in ancient Greece. However both heroes exemplify the qualities most heroes attempt to exhibit. The following are short summaries of both the stories of Beowulf and Achilles as well as their respective heroic traits.

First, I will start off with the tale of Beowulf. The poem opens up with a description of the genealogy of the high King Hrothgar of Denmark. This king builds a great mead-hall named Heorot, a place where warriors from all over can gather for a night of drinking and eating. This time of prosperity though soon came to the end. Grendel, a fierce monster with mighty strength, started killing the Danes, some sort of complaint about the noise. Once word gets out of how these warriors are being killed off ruthlessly without any successful attempts at retaliation against this demon, a Geatish warrior named Beowulf steps into the scene. Once Beowulf arrives, he is welcomed warmly by king Hrothgar into his mead-hall. Beowulf’s men were treated to a feast, but during the event, Beowulf was taunted...

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...imately, protecting something they felt was worth laying down their lives for.

While Beowulf has positive pride, Achilles has negative pride. Beowulf is proud of his accomplishments, but does not think highly of himself. Achilles thinks he is the best and is too proud for his own good. He endangers others in the war out of his pride. They lose many men and Patroclus because of his tragic flaw. They are both well-known warriors, but Beowulf is justified in his killing while Achilles is not. Beowulf killed to protect and Achilles killed out of revenge and hatred. They are both superhuman too, with both being unnaturally strong. Beowulf is loyal to those friends and people while Achilles abandons his fellow warriors and friends and lets them fight their own war. Beowulf is heroic and admirable, while Achilles is less heroic in most of his actions and rather loathsome.