Comparing Beowulf Achilles And Odysseus

What is an epic hero? Some may say it is the fact that these characters, like Achilles and Beowulf, are in an epic narrative, but that is not what makes them so “epic.” It is the acts that they undertake in the story and the characteristics and the actions of these characters that makes them what they are. The three epic heroes Beowulf, Achilles, and Odysseus are, of course, in an epic narrative, but their actions and characteristics are what makes them the heroes of their stories. Beowulf, Achilles, and Odysseus all have immense physical strength, valliance, and their own tragic flaws. Each of the epic heroes listed above show great amounts of physical strength. Beowulf showed his strength in the story by using his superhuman abilities. In the story, he is extremely strong. He is able to wield his massive sword that no normal man could handle and also shows his strength by ripping Grendel’s arm out of it’s socket. As Beowulf shows his strength in these ways Achilles also has great physical strengths. The strengths that Achilles shows during …show more content…
Beowulf shows his bravery when he dives into the lake, knowing there is a great possibility of his death, as well as when he fights Grendel without having any weapons. In both of these cases Beowulf is risking his life for the benefit of others and showing his bravery by sacrificing himself. To show Achilles’ valliance, he goes to war with Hector and he comes to a battle where he knows he will die. Achilles still fights on, knowing that he will most likely not survive. Correspondingly, Odysseus also displays his own bravery during the Odyssey. Throughout the whole story, he continues push his way through all of the obstacles thrown in his way by the gods to get to his wife. He also shows this same valliance as, at the beginning of the story, he goes to fight in Troy, and later he climbs the mountain to save his men and risking his