The Gladiator And Beowulf Comparison

Great heroism is reflected In Beowulf, Gilgamesh, Hector from the book Homer, and in Maximus from the movie The Gladiator. These four characters are dead heroes who are still remembered to the present days. They have many similarities. However, with all their similar characteristics, they actually differ more than they are alike. They are not equal heros, the meaning of heroism changes in each epic, and not all of them ended up winning their battles. Maximus, Beowulf, and Gilgamesh saved lives. They fought against the evil to protect their people, yet they were not equal heroes. Maximus did not fight to a monster. He fought, man to man. Beowulf fought and killed three monster when Gilgamesh have only killed a single monster. Beowulf and Maximus know they might die when they go fight. They are not scared of death: “ freeing his man is the last wish of a dying man (Maximus).” On the other hand, Gilgamesh searches for immortality because he is afraid to die. …show more content…
It varies from place to place and time to time. Some people consider a hero to be a person who has a courage. Other specify it differently. In the epic story of Beowulf, no matter how selfless a man is, as long as he protects the people from the evil, he is a hero. Beowulf did not fight to protect the people; he fought to gain a glory: “ So fame comes to the men who mean to win it, and care about nothing else! (line 507).” This shows the selfishness of Beowulf, but also how the people still honor him as a hero. Maximus was honored as a hero only because he fought for Rome. If he had done it to gain a great praise as Beowulf did, he would have accepted to take over the kingdom when Marcus offered him to: “ I will give you power to give power back to the Rome people