Tragic Hero In The Iliad, Beowulf, And Hamlet

According to dictionary.com, a tragic hero defines as “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat” ("tragic hero"). A tragic hero, according to Aristotle, defines as “a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction” (Littrell, Mary). During this past year, I have learned about what it takes to be a tragic hero. I have also learned what it takes to be a hero period. Being a hero, to me, means one’s ability to be willing to die for what they believe in. The Iliad, Beowulf and Hamlet have all shown heroes dying for what they believe in. Achilles, Hector, Beowulf, and Hamlet are all tragic heroes because they all are of noble birth,

Achilles, being the best warrior that the Greeks had on their side, ended up being difficult to defeat. Achilles went to battle knowing he would die in it because his death had been prophesied if he took part in battle. Although Achilles pouted and stayed at the ships almost the entire last year of the battle, when he finally came to battle, he became the fiercest warrior on the battlefield. The reason Achilles finally came to battle had been to avenge the death of his beloved Patroclus by killing Hector. Achilles killed every Trojan to appear in his way and put the majority of their bodies in the river Xanthus. This action infuriated the mighty river, causing him to go after Achilles. Achilles then escaped the wrath of Xanthus, with the help of Poseidon, Athena, and Hephaestus. Achilles finally did kill Hector then dragged him around tied to the back of Achilles’ chariot. Hector, had been just as brave as Achille and the both shared two huge things: this had not been their fight and neither one had been in charge of their own destinies. Hector, being the Trojan’s finest warrior, had also been a difficult warrior to defeat. Hector stepped up to clean Paris’s mess up when Paris refused to go into battle, when Hector did not have to. In the end, Achilles killed Hector and he died a hero’s death. Beowulf fought many monsters from many lands, all having the ability to kill him.

Achilles faced gods that were helping the Trojan side, such as Apollo, Ares,and Aphrodite, as well as demi-gods that were on the Trojan side such as Aeneas. Apollo caused a plague on the Greeks because Agamemnon captured one of Apollo’s priest’s daughters and would not return her. Ares physically fought on the battlefield against the Greeks. Aphrodite removed her son from battle once he had been wounded. Achilles also received help from gods such as his mother, Thetis, Athena, Hera, Poseidon, Hephaestus,and Zeus. Thetis watched over Achilles and had new armor made for him so that he could return to battle after Patroclus’ death. Athena went to battle with Achilles and protected him there. Hera distracted Zeus so Poseidon could take the form of Calchas and encourage the Greeks. Hephaestus dried Xanthus up when he chased Achilles for putting dead Trojan bodies in the river Xanthus. Now Zeus kind of worked on the Trojan side so that Achilles could punish Agamemnon for taking Achilles’ prize, Briseis. Hector faced gods that were on the Greek side, such as Athena, Poseidon, and Hera as well as demigods, like Achilles. Athena gave Diomedes the ability to see the gods, which allowed him to attack Ares and wound him. Hera distracted Zeus so Poseidon could give the Greeks encouragement, causing the Trojans to fall back. Beowulf faced Grendel,