How Are Beowulf And Achilles Alike

An epic hero is considered a brave and noble character admired for their great achievements or events. Beowulf exemplifies the traits of the perfect hero. The poem explains his heroism in two separate phases and through three separate and difficult conflicts—with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. Achilles possesses superhuman strength and has a close relationship with the gods and has all the marks of a great warrior, and indeed proves he is the mightiest man in the Achaean army, but his character flaws constantly prevent his ability to act with nobility and integrity.
Both Beowulf and Achilles have great courage and there were many similarities in how they used it, along with some differences. Beowulf and Achilles use their courage …show more content…
The ease of their victories shows the authors of these works trying to demonstrate how vastly superior these men were. All of these instances could have resulted in the hero's death, which is why courage was so important. Beowulf seems to have honor in his courage, such as fighting with no weapons, and leaving Grendel to die by himself. On the other hand, Achilles disrespects Hector's body. Beowulf and Achilles both greatly affected the fate of their nations and changed them forever. Beowulf saves the Danes' kingdom from Grendel, saved his own people from attack, and influenced their lives. Achilles helped the Greeks in the Trojan War and his homeland certainly honored him for …show more content…
Beowulf is a great warrior and leader who fought to protect his soldiers and to make places more peaceful. He also perfectly embodies the values of loyalty, pride, and courtesy. Achilles, on the other hand, is not as heroic as Beowulf, even thought he was also a great warrior and had superhuman strength, he mostly fought for revenge, social position, and power. He was driven by a thirst for glory. Beowulf does not have the companion that Achilles has Patroclus, and he doesn’t have any of Achilles' anger. This is a very big difference between the two. Both men are fueled by pride and glory, but Achilles later becomes fueled by vengeance over the slaying of his friend Patroclus. This leads Achilles to fight his biggest enemy, Hector. Beowulf does not have the anger motivation. Achilles dies in a fairly poor way. He is shot in the heel by Paris. Beowulf, on the other hand, dies fighting a dragon. Beowulf's death is definitely better than Achilles. You could argue that his character is too, as he is motivated by glory and the eagerness to help, and not glory and