Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Thesues

Two valiant heroes each looked up to by their cultures with strength beyond measure and tremendous power. The two predominant characters in this essay are thesues; a great hero to Athens and Beowulf; the renowned hero who fights the troll like monster Grendel. His mother Aethra raised Theseus. Indoctrinated that his father was the eminent Poseidon the god of the sea. When Theseus turned the age of 16 his mother explained to Theseus he was the child of Aegeus the king of Athens. Aethra instructed Theseus to lift a large rock over his head, after which Thesues came upon a sword which starts him on his adventure to find his father and return the sword. Beowulf was a prince of the Geats who went on an endeavor to Hogarth to slay the monstrous creature Grendel that prowled about the great hall of heorot after nightfall. Beowulf appears to be a strong brave character who does not change throughout the story and remains a robust leader from the beginning to the end. Thesues enters the story as an innocent young boy who quickly becomes a narcisstic, pitiless leader. Both Thesues and Beowulf are similar in the sense they are both brave, although both have many contrasts, Beowulf had knowledge of his noble birth, Theseus did not. Throughout this essay the understanding that both these two known heroes have many similarity’s as well differences.
Beowulf portrayed bravery when he lunged from the sleeping bench and grappled Grendel in the darkness. The way in which Beowulf decided to handle the situation with bare hands without weapon or armor of any kind. This truly captures the meaning of hero. Theseus also shows this characteristic on his expedition to meet his birth father. A sixteen year old boy defeated three monsters that could have likely killed him. At great risk Theseus puts a considerate amount of trust in him to slay the miniature and save his