He had help by means of his followers and the princess. Nothing like William Wallace, Gilgamesh fought the monster by himself. Gilgamesh fought to save his friend and became famous for that. Their challenges were successful because they meet their goals. William Wallace was wrath at the British for killing his wife.
The Iliad is also another great epic story about a hero that fought his people. Achillies was great warrior that fought for his people but, more for himself. Achillies got word that his best friend was killed. That day Achillies didn’t go to fight. He felt terrible about it.
Beowulf eventually becomes king and dies defending his people from a fire dragon. Beowulf accomplishes his hero cycle through heroic deeds, encounter with numinous phenomenon, and his death, proving he is an ideal hero. To begin, Beowulf starts off the hero cycle strong by performing heroic deeds leading up to his challenge. He says, “A monster seized me, drew me swiftly toward the bottom, swimming with its claws tight in my flesh, but fate let me find its heart with my sword, hack myself free; I fought that beast’s last battle, left it floating lifeless in the sea” (Beowulf 273-278). Once in a swimming race Beowulf had been attacked by a sea monster and had to save himself.
Fifty years ahead and now King Beowulf faced a task of killing a dragon. He would “[fight] with fate against him” (724) seeing as his “the ancient blade broke” (727) while striking the dragon’s side. The beloved king would eventually die with “None of his comrades\Came to help him” (745-746) and his “Followers… ran for their lives…” (745-748). King Arthur’s story is also an epic poem which speaks about an honorable leader who will do anything to defend his people. Arthur went off to battle, with his comrades at his side the whole time and is able to defeat his foe, but doing so left him fatally injured, until he is eventually killed.
Beowulf was seen as a great warrior, who fought until his death. In his first battle Beowulf triumphs over a monster, Grendal who has been terrorizing the people of King Hrothgar. In the second battle, Beowulf faces off with Grendal’s mother, coming out the victor once again. In the final battle, we see Beowulf meet his end, when he fights to the death with the dragon. Each battle is a representation of good vs. evil.
Heroes all share the characteristic of their willingness to die in their effort to accomplish their heroic act, thus making the act in itself heroic. Throughout the epic, Beowulf in many ways exhibited all the qualities and characteristics needed to be a true hero. Grendel’s attack on the mead hall was much unexpected. Grendel is your classic "outcast." Because of the sins of his forefathers, specifically Cain who killed his brother Abel, Grendel and other descendants of Cain were banished by God.
Many people recognize Beowulf as the hero of Anglo-Saxon time due to amazing strength and courage. Thou he had hero like qualities, Beowulf could also be considered a selfish hero because his speech, thoughts, and actions showed that he would do anything to succeed. Throughout a few defeated battles Beowulf justified his loses to make him look more successful. Beowulf relied on his own destinies so much that is let him to Denmark to fulfill his "Destiny" and kill a known unbeatable monster named "Grendel". Thou he doesnt know the true outcome of his beliefs he wasnt conscious of his own or other peoples lives but instead focused on his natural wanted defeat.
This paper will tell examples and reasoning of why Beowulf is all of these things. An epic hero is one that stands out among all the rest. Even after hearing many stories of Grendel’s wrath, he still planned to fight the best without any hesitation. The reader would believe this is an example of a very brave fighter. Beowulf shows his abilities and proves brave enough as he resolves to kill the “lady monster”, (excerpt page 40).
Throughout the entire poem Beowulf sustains these qualities with every monstrous encounter he faces. From the very beginning he triumphs over Grendel using merely his bare hands, then chops off the head of Grendel’s revenged seeking mother, and lastly battles the lethal dragon in his elder days, ultimately resulting in his death. On his way out to face the dragon Beowulf says to another soldier, “This fight is not yours, nor is it up to any man except me… I shall win the gold by my courage, or else mortal combat, doom of battle, will bear your lord away” (“Beowulf,” in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. I, 8th ed. Ed.
"(Beowulf line 464-466) Beowulf’s unusual and courageous method of killing Grendel demonstrates his bravery and physical strength. Before, Unferth had taunted Beowulf about his foolish bravery, but when he and all the rest of the Geats saw that Beowulf’s strength and power were worth boasting about, they were humbled. To prove Beowulf was powerful, he hung Grendel’s arm, claw, and