Beowulf Vs Achilles Research Paper

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Parker Christman Sophia DeSilva English 12 29 September 2015 Beowulf vs. Achilles Many iconic poems were orally told before they were written. An epic poem entitled Beowulf is very mysterious. It tells of a warrior named Beowulf that slays monsters in order to acquire fame and glory. It is unclear who the author is of the poem. Although, we do know that the poet lived somewhere between the middle of the seventh century and near the end of the tenth century. Beowulf’s setting takes place within the sixth century. It is also the oldest surviving epic poem in the English language. Other poets have their existence doubted as well. The Iliad, thought to be the work of a poet by the name of Homer. This poem is about the heroic warrior Achilles…show more content…
Instead of fighting for his own glory, he fought to avenge his best friend, Patroclus. After an argument with Agamemnon, Achilles stays in his tent while his fellow Greek comrades are battling with the Trojans. In the process, Patroclus is killed by the son of Priam, the king of Troy. “Hector, I’ll have no talk of pacts with you, /forever unforgiven as you are” (Homer 87-88). During this, Achilles is confronting Hector face to face, commanding that he will unmercifully kill Hector. That takes a great deal of courage to tell someone that. Another example of Achilles’ heroic courage is the incident when he brought Hector’s body to Priam, after he dragged it around while it was attached to his chariot. “Priam, /the great king of Troy, passed by the others, / knelt down, took in his arms Achilles’ knees, /and kissed the hands of wrath that killed his sons” (Homer 283-286). In this excerpt, Priam is begging for the return of Hector’s body so that he will have a proper burial. That took Achilles a lot of courage to bring Hector’s body to Priam. Beowulf’s and Achilles’ cultures affect why and how they would fight. When Achilles threw his spear at Hector and missed, Athena quickly returned it to him. Beowulf on the other hand thanked God for his victories. Achilles and Beowulf did not fear for their deaths. Beowulf was a member of an Anglo-Saxon tribe known

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