Compare And Contrast Epic Hero And Beowulf

When you take a look at past epic heroes, they were more than a person who flew around the town with a cape and saved cats from trees, heroes were defined as highly respected warriors that fought beasts and defended their people with honor. The definition of an Epic Hero is “A brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events.” (Dictionary.com) Epic heroes like Beowulf and Achilles displayed many of the same characteristics including being ethical, a responsible leader, preforming brave deeds, having superior strength, intelligence, and courage. Epic heroes usually showed their abilities during battles. They would show great leadership when they came out of battle with their whole army still

These two battles showed Beowulf’s true character as a hero. It showed how Beowulf didn’t give up, lead his army to victory, and his loyalty to King Hrothgar. Fast-forward fifty years, Beowulf is king of the Geets, and is on another mission to show his heroism. A thief awoke a dragon and Beowulf is on a mission to kill it. Beowulf tells his people that he can handle this battle alone like he did against Grendel fifty years earlier. This act alone shows that Beowulf isn’t afraid of risking his life to save his people. Beowulf ended up dying as a result of the dragon’s venomous

Achilles was a demigod. Thetis (his mother) was a Nereid and his father (Peleus) was the mortal king of the Myrmidons. Thetis was overly concerned with Achilles mortality and dipped him into the River Styx to make sure her son stayed mortal forever. Although she dipped him into the river, she held him by his heel, thus resulting in Achilles having one spot on his body deemed as immortal. Achilles was always in battle, showing great success and always coming out of the battles victorious. Showing his true heroism by risking his life for