Achilles Vs Beowulf

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Over many countries and cultures and through many traditions and customs, the definition of a hero can be described in many different ways. From Beowulf to Achilles, to the modern superhero, people view heroes with multiple contrasting viewpoints. Still there are quite a few similarities in what makes a modern hero a “hero”. What makes the universal definition of a hero though would have to be that it is someone who has had to have done something meaningful, that is concerned with the well-being of others, and puts themselves at some sort of risk. By these traits, a modern audience should take into consideration if Beowulf and Achilles are actually “heroes” in the modern sense of the word. The character Achilles is considered the hero of…show more content…
Beowulf is much less selfless, in that he is also helping out a small kingdom. Achilles on the other hand does not care very much about the Greeks, as he wishes for them to do poorly just so that they will beg him to come back. Since Achilles did this, it results in the deaths of many Greeks, including his close friend Patroclus. Under more comparison, Achilles's final enemy is Hector, whom he beats about as easily as Beowulf beats Grendel. This obvious ease of their victories shows that the authors of these stories are trying to show how vastly superior these men were above others. In modern times though, people like difficult and trying struggles to prove the heroes'…show more content…
Choose, dear Beowulf, the better part, eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride. For a brief while your strength is in bloom but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow illness or the sword to lay you low, or a sudden fire or surge of water or jabbing blade or javelin from the air or repellent age. Your piercing eye will dim and darken; and death will arrive, dear warrior, to sweep you away.” The same as Achilles, Beowulf's decision to go and battle the dragon at the end of the story is morally questionable. He is going out to have one last adventure that he knows will more than likely result in his death. This will leave his people defenceless and without a king, showing that he is shirking his responsibilities in order to chase elusive glory. Although Achilles is shown to be less overtly heroic than Beowulf in the way that he is mastered by his emotions, at the same time, arguably, both characters place their own desire for glory and fame above all

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