Beowulf And Achilles Comparison

In the epic poems Beowulf and the Iliad, both Beowulf and Achilles perform courageous or even superhero deeds that reflect the values of their time periods. This being said, being a hero is not just about whether the actions are performed or not, but more about how the hero performed the action. The title hero obviously has some definitions to it, but who, Achilles or Beowulf, defines this word better? When reading Beowulf, written by the Beowulf poet, and the Iliad, written by Homer, it is clear that Beowulf is the most heroic, with reference to his actions and attitudes, when compared to Achilles.
Beowulf had many positive traits, one of them being physical strength. Beowulf’s strength was proven when he fought Grendel. “That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime,/ Knew at once that nowhere on earth/ Had he met a man whose
If Achilles and Beowulf were to battle each other, it can not be said with certainty who would win. Although, it can be said, with certainty, that Beowulf’s positive character traits outweighed Achilles’. Achilles lived as though he could do anything he wanted. In short, Achilles was an impudent child. Achilles refused to participate in the war, knowing it would hurt his people, simply because he was angry some guy took the girl he liked. Patroclus succumbed to Hector’s spear because of Achilles. Achilles also broke the principles of behavior of his time by mangling Hector. Beowulf on the other hand, behaved each and every one of the rules of his time. Beowulf fought to retain the safety of people, whether they were his own people or not, he was also so loyal to his family and king that he brawled two monsters when he only set out to battle one.Wholly, if you compare Beowulf and Achilles’ positive and negative attributes, with the thought of who would make the optimum hero, Beowulf is the fittest of them