“The nation needs heroes because in a time of war, leadership itself is so critical” (Cannon). Over the years heroes have evolved from true heroes to pseudo heroes. They have some similar characteristics, but pseudo heroes are corruptive and distorted. As the most valued, strongest, ablest warrior around Beowulf is looked up upon. He is a Geatish warrior who fights not only the monster Grendel, but also Grendel’s mom and a fire breathing dragon. Achilles was an important hero in The Iliad. As a regnant warrior, he leads soldiers from his hometown to seek revenge towards Agamemnon. Beowulf and Achilles were both superior warriors in similar and different ways.
Beowulf and Achilles are two well-known heroes who fought agelong and hard. Beowulf …show more content…
Achilles could not control his angry ego, which led to many losses since he would refuse to fight. Opposed to Beowulf fighting to protect his people, Achilles was more in it for himself. Rather Beowulf directed his anger against his three enemies. The differences clearly reveal who the transcendent hero is.
Beowulf is a better hero because he is not selfish like Achilles. Achilles only does something if he wants to do it; he does not care if it needs to be done. An example of this is when he did not originally want to go to war until it was his idea. He waited by the ships, but then when his best friend Patroclus died, he wanted to fight for revenge. Beowulf fought when no one else wanted to. It was Hrothgar’s idea to fight Grendel and Beowulf took on that challenge. Achilles’s weakness really does affect him being called a genuine hero.
All in all, everyone is going to have traits that set them apart. Beowulf and Achilles shared the value of strength and invulnerability. However, they had different egos which affected their actions. Great leaders do not set out to be a leader… they set out to make a difference. It is never about the role- always about the