It is here where Odysseus and his fleet of warriors defeated the Trojans because of his great leadership. Knowing that he cannot defeat the Trojans from outside the walls, he comes up with a different
Achilles V.S. Odysseus Achilles represents skills and the greatest of courage. The only thing that stops him from becoming the best and the perfect warrior or hero is his crazy, sometimes uncontrollable anger that he has. In the movie Troy Achilles shows his skills off by effortlessly killing every man that stands in his way with a sword or knife. The thought was Achilles could not be killed.
Beowulf is portrayed, as per the author's intentions, as the archetypal hero in order to develop the theme of the story: With God's grace, a hero is able to defeat evil. Beowulf is shown to be blessed with skills beyond that of an ordinary man, and uses his capabilities and faith in God to take him to Herot and destroy the sinister Grendel. When Beowulf is first introduced, it is declared from the outset that he is "greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world." The story continues on to talk of how Hrothgar, King of the Danes, is troubled by a monster, Grendel, who torments his mead hall nightly, slaughtering his soldiers and eating them. With all this in mind, Beowulf boards his ship along with fourteen other men and sets sail for Denmark, hoping to purge Grendel from Herot.
To do this, he has to trick and blackmail the Graeae, which he successfully does.Next, Perseus gains two important allies. First of all, the Nymphai loan Perseus lots of useful stuff, like Hermes' winged sandals, Hades' helmet of invisibility, and the kibisis. Second, Athena offers Perseus some great advice about how to defeat Medusa (only look at the monster through the refection on your shield). Good thing Perseus has some friends. With his borrowed magical gear, Perseus flies off to find the Gorgons' cave.
Both characters also show bravery throughout their adventures. An example of bravery shown by Beowulf can be seen in his response to king Hrothgar when he asks Beowulf if he will once again help his people by defeating Grendel’s mom. “So arise, my lord, and let immediately set forth on the trail of this troll-dam. I guarantee you: she will not get away, not to dens underground nor upland groves nor the ocean floor.”
Odysseus is a hero because he came up with the idea to make the Trojan horse when he was at war against the Trojans. The Trojan Horse tricked the Trojans and enabled Odysseus to win the war against them. Odysseus is also a hero because he fought through the many trials that Poseidon put him through in order to get home to Ithaca so he could see his loved ones. (Odysseus, in his tale:) ‘“Dear friends, surely we are not unlearned in evils. This is no greater evil now than it was when the Cyclops had us cooped in his hollow cave by force and violence, but even there, by my courage and counsel and my intelligence, we escaped away.
Achilles fights for the Greek army and is considered the greatest of the Greek warriors, while Hector, who fights for the Trojan army, is a prince of Troy, considered the greatest Trojan warrior, and leads the Trojan army. Both Achilles and Hector have very similar heroic qualities. They both exhibit the urge and need to fight for their people. “‘Agamemnon, now I take it, / the siege is broken, we are going to sail, / and even so may not leave death behind: / if war spares anyone, disease will take him,’” (Book 1, ℓ 68-71). This is something that Achilles said showing that he wanted to go fight.
For example, a common hero is Theseus as he was determined to save the people of Athens from having to sacrifice their children to the Cretan Minotaur. Similarly in Greek texts a person such as Hercules was considered a hero because of his many adventures, known as the twelve labours, he is also recognised as a hero due to his inhuman-like strength. The heroic qualities I will discuss are polymetis, leadership and loyalty as I feel these all play a key part in a hero’s success. Before the character of Odysseus is even met by the reader, he is descried as heroic by many other characters including Menelaus and Helen, for example, “whom undertook all those heroic tasks for my sake”. This shows how highly regarded Odysseus is even among other kings.
Yet, he faces his fears head on, as the Trojans are in a battle to stay alive during a violent storm caused by the jealous goddess Juno. She has her reasons for not wanting Aeneas’ journey to be one of ease, but Aeneas demonstrates his leadership and proves that his priority is the well-being of his group. Once the ships safely land on the shore new Carthage, he provides food by “shooting and shooting til he won the hunt by laying seven carcasses on the ground” (Damrosch, Pike, p.691). Aeneas finds love with Queen Dido in Carthage, and although he could stay with her and fill the role of husband to the queen. He exhibits his obedience to the gods, “Duty-bound, Aeneas, though he struggled with desire to calm and comfort her pain… yet took the course
Achilles achieved honor on the battlefield as depicted in The Iliad, which fueled his pride. “I tried to dissuade you, but you gave in to your pride and dishonored a great man whom the immortals esteem” (Homer 115). However, his pride was not the only thing the Achilles of The Iliad depicts; his quest for glory is also his motivation to fight. The last lines of Book XX describe Achilles desire for this glory, “But the son of Peleus pressed on to win him glory, flecking with gore his irresistible hands." In the movie Troy Achilles is first motivated by honor and pride, but then passion overtakes him when Agamemnon takes Briseis.