Hellenistic Culture Essay

What is Hellenistic culture? How can it be related to Anglo-Saxon culture? Jesus Christ is one of the most well known men in history and he was apart of the Hellenistic culture and lived and set an example for the people around him and showed people what his culture was about through how he lived.

How did jesus live you may ask? He lived very graciously and not for himself but for others and he showed that through three main characteristics that his culture formed him into the person he was. One characteristic that I think stands out is how he was so graceful

“Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you and Christ Jesus”. This is just one of the few examples of how Jesus lived and how he lived so gracefully no matter the circumstances. Another example of how he lived is how kind he was to others no matter if they weren't kind to him or if he didn't even know them he was

always out to do his best for others “And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.” This quote shows how kind and gracious he was towards others in his life, and to let his people and followers know that he is always with them no matter what. The last characteristic is of how loving he was and how he always loved as hard as he could and for anyone he could “As the father has loved me, so have I loved you” This quote is explaining his father's unconditional love for him so therefore he is going to love us just as much. Jesus shaped his life not just through these main characteristics but many others but these are the ones that are shown the most.
Now we have someone similar to Jesus but not exactly. Beowulf, he is apart of the Anglo-Saxon culture which is an ancient culture from the 5th century that come from Great Britain. Beowulf is a firm believer in following this culture and what it and its people believe in. Beowulf is also known for his heroism in battles throughout the history of literature where he fights off monsters to save a scared and helpless community and then have to fight off the monster's mother then later on have his final battle with a dragon at the end. But throughout all of this Beowulf stuck to his true character. One of the main characteristics to point out would be how he was always doing good deeds for his people and not only just his people but others that he didn't even know like in the story “Hail Hrothgar! Higlac is my cousin and my king the days of my youth have been filled with glory. Now Grendel's name has echoed in our land sailors have brought us stories of Herot the best of all mead halls deserted and useless when the moon hangs in skies the sun had lit.” This quote is showing how Beowulf doesn't even know Hrothgar or his people but he has heard of them and what they are going through and that he is willing to help them and do a good deed. It also shows how sincere Beowulf is because he compliments Hrothgar's mead hall even though they are going through a tough time with it. This is one of the major points in the story that support his characteristics of being a good person and hero. Another good characteristic that Beowulf follows is his loyalty “The monster's hatred rose higher, but his power had gone. He twisted in pain, and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped, muscle and bone split and broke. The battle was over, Beowulf had been granted new glory.” This shows how he never went against his word to Hrothgar and his people and how he can always be trusted to follow through and never fell back on a task. The last characteristic is how courageous he was and how he always had courage going into a battle and I think his men and soldiers fed off of that and that sort of in a way made them better soldiers because of him. “Then Beowulf rose, still brave, still strong and with his shield at his side, and a mail shirt on his breast strode calmly, confidently, toward the tower under the rocky cliffs.” This quote really shows Beowulf's true character because, during this he was old Beowulf and not as strong like he used to be but he still had his bravery and courage and I think that this quote showed his true colors.
Hellenistic comes from the word hellazein which means that you speak Greek or are apart of the Greek culture.

To be apart of the Hellenistic culture means you will be also apart of the Greek culture which meant you would have believed in many different gods for example, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and Poseidon the God of the sea. Another thing that this culture is about is that they were ruled by kings. But the ruler that kind of inspired the hellenistic culture to come about was Alexander the Great and he sort of inspired the Greeks to form into somewhat hellenistic because his kingdom had reached all the way from the eastern mediterranean to Asia and that kind of sparked what is known as the Hellenistic period. Last but not least is how the people apart of the hellenistic age liked to show off their wealth. They would build big palaces they took pride in their fancy art and sculptures and extravagant jewelry. They weren't all stingy with their wealth either, they would make contributions or donations to Museums, zoos, and they would sponsor libraries and

universities.
In Anglo-Saxon culture they were also led by kings and lords. Like in the story beowulf they were ruled by kings in their case Hrothgar.which in that time and area they believed and followed the Anglo-Saxon cultural beliefs. This was very important for them because they felt like they needed a leader in their lives who could protect them and make important strategic decisions for them. They also idolized real people and heros such as Beowulf and other heros that did good deeds for the community at that time. “No dane doubted the victory, for the proof hanging high from the rafters where Beowulf had hung it…. In the morning crowds surrounded Herot, warriors coming to that hall from faraway lands, princes and leaders of men hurrying to behold the monsters great staggering tracks” This quote shows about how much not just the community but other communities and leaders from different lands now adore Beowulf and how much they appreciate him. It also shows that they in a way now rely on him to do the dirty work of ridding the evil out of their lives because without him nobody else would do it. Lastly in the Anglo-Saxon culture you would have been a warrior. Like in Beowulf there are usually a lot of fights or wars that happen and for a community that isn't very big they need everyone they can get which was usually only males who were going out into the battle field.
Now to compare the two cultures that are above. The first thing is for Hellenistic culture is how they liked to show off their wealth and riches, even though it is not listed for Anglo saxon culture they also liked to show sort of show off what they have for example herot “He thought of greatness and resolved to build a hall that would hold his mighty band and reach higher toward heaven than anything that had ever been known to the sons of men and in that hall he’d divide the spoils of their victories, to old and young what they’d earned in battle” This is an example of how Hrothgar who was apart of the Anglo-Saxons culture showed off their wealth and victories through their big town meeting hall. This wasn't a sign of them bragging or boasting but sort of a resume to anyone who came there would know what all they have accomplished throughout the many years of being in battle. Another one of the two cultures similarities is how they both had leaders to rule over them and make decisions for them and their land. This shows how the two were similar because they believed that the people needed leaders and that it was in their best interest to have them. Lastly both cultures both had two well known men involved in each culture. The first would be Jesus who was not completely involved with hellenistic culture but he was around during this time and it had affected his way of life. How did it affect him you may ask? It didn't really directly affect Jesus’s life but it all started where he grew up in Galilee which was undergoing Hellenization at the time period. But this did not affect Jesus in a negative way, he still went on to be a leader for the church and spreading joy and love to everyone he met. Now there is Beowulf he was one of the most well known leaders in Anglo-Saxon culture for his battles against Grendel, Grendel's mom, and lastly the dragon. Both the cultures and men are pretty similar.
In conclusion Hellenistic culture and Anglo-Saxon culture are very similar. As are Beowulf and Jesus, because both have characteristics that represent one another's cultures which are alike in many ways. Jesus was very kind and so was beowulf and both of their characteristics reflect off of their backgrounds or cultures. In life you can take after these two heroic figures because of how they would go out of their way for someone else and not just do good things for themselves or someone they knew they would go out of their way for everyone.