ipl-logo

Heroic Qualities In Beowulf, Odysseus And Gilgamesh

1230 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Heroic qualities of beowulf

All epic heroes have many similar qualities. Bravery, courage, and strength are all examples of similar qualities that most heroes share. "Beowulf," Odysseus, and Gilgamesh all have similar heroic qualities. "Beowulf" is a price of the Geats. He is the strongest warrior and is incredibly brave. But "Beowulf" is greedy, vain and has terrible morals. All he wants out of life is gold and fame. Gilgamesh, Odysseus and "Beowulf" all have different qualities. All of the hero 's qualities affect their story in a different way. Every different way the hero acts will have different effects on the outcome of their story. Some of their actions will make the ending of their story better. And some of the hero 's actions will make the ending of their story …show more content…

For instance, "Beowulf" is strong and brave but he is also vain and greedy. "Beowulf 's" heroic qualities most definitely affect his story. Usually the epic heroes would go through a change. They would have a change of heart or would learn from their pilgrimage. They would see the enormous picture and would learn from all of their mistakes that they had made. Except for "Beowulf." He wanted the same that he has always wanted since day one. And that is gold and fame. He is motivated by riches and fame. He does not change throughout the entire story. All he wants in life is gold all the way up to his death. "Beowulf" would relish in the thought of getting richer and gaining fame. "Beowulf" fought the infamous Grendel. After "Beowulf" killed Grendel all he wanted …show more content…

Near the beginning of Gilgamesh 's story Gilgamesh is young, and arrogant. But as he gets to the end of his story he realizes the mistakes he has made and we 'll have to live with them for the rest of his life. Gilgamesh was feared and hated by many of the people who lived in Erech. One of the reasons being are because of how he made the children work for him and how he took any maiden he wanted and raped them. Gilgamesh became best friends with "Enkidu." "Enkidu" trusts Gilgamesh with his life. Besides, Gilgamesh trusts "Enkidu." Gilgamesh really does value his friendship with "Enkidu." "Enkidu" would do whatever Gilgamesh wanted to do. Even if "Enkidu" was not entirely up for it. Gilgamesh always would somehow convince/persuade "Enkidu" to do whatever he wanted to do and "Enkidu" put so much faith and trust into his best friend that he never said no. This would most definitely cost "Enkidu" his life in end. "Enkidu" died because he helped kill the heavenly bull. The heavenly bull would bring seven years of famine. This means that the people could no longer gorge on the food that they used to have. The gods were mad at "Enkidu" and they killed him. Their friendship meant the world to Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh wanted to be immortal so that he would be able to escape death. Therefore, that is not what it was

Show More
Related
1890 Words | 8 Pages

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu knows that his fate is death after he falls ill. While dying, he begins to grow worried due to the dreams he has of Gilgamesh not saving him from danger as he thought he would. His worry causes him to curse those who love him, like Shamhat, a woman who turned him from a beast into a human, and gave him Gilgamesh. Enkidu then immediately regrets the curses he puts on Shamhat after an unidentified voice, similar to God, explains that Shamhat has given him Gilgamesh, and Gilgamesh, “will have the people of Uruk shed bitter tears for [him once he passes], [and] he will make the pleasure-loving people burdened down for [him]. (lines 99-100).

Read More
220 Words | 1 Pages

When he died, Gilgamesh started changing for the superior. Just as the article says, Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Heroic Life, “The most a man

Read More
836 Words | 4 Pages

In The Odyssey an epic poem by Homer, Odysseus, a hero from Ithaca, is trapped on his way home from Athens and Troy. His son, Telemachus, goes on a journey looking for his lost father. Both son and father want to reclaim their house from the suitors who wish to marry Penelope, Odysseus’ wife. Genghis Khan, Choi Yuna, my brother, An Thai, and Odysseus have traits like strength, thoughtfulness, and attractiveness. People need heroes with these traits because they need role models and someone to guide them through life.

Read More
746 Words | 3 Pages

In this tale, a godly man, Gilgamesh, develops a friendship with beast-turned-man, Enkidu, who begins to teach Gilgamesh about the world and helps him to grapple with challenges. After one challenge in particular, a battle with the giant Humbaba, Enkidu dies abruptly, leaving Gilgamesh alone again, and forcing him to overcome adversities by himself. Gilgamesh is initially despondent, but these adversities eventually give him the strength to grow in wisdom and appreciation. Gilgamesh flourishes from his failures because he can finally understand the meanings of life and death, accept

Read More
616 Words | 3 Pages

The first trait of a hero we will look at is leadership. All three heroes showed leadership in some way in each of their respective tales. Beowulf showed leadership throughout his story by taking charge against the monster Grendel. Grendel had been terrorizing a distant land, by eating people, for twelve years. The people of the land called upon Beowulf to help.

Read More
609 Words | 3 Pages

What characteristics do heroes have? A great representation of a hero is Beowulf written by Burton Raffel. The story of, Beowulf is a hero that goes to kingdoms while they are in distress and helps them by facing hideous monsters. Heroes are people who meet certain characteristics and are willing to help people for good. A hero is supposed to make people feel safe, and have hope that there will be help.

Read More
664 Words | 3 Pages

Introduction In this paper, I will involve in exploring one trait of a hero in a nuanced and complex way. I will build this complexity by discussing two heroes who posses this trait, and one who does not. To illustrate, an epic hero is a character in the epic story or poem who is brave and noble. I will involve in exploring three heroes (Beowulf, Odysseus and Merry).

Read More
977 Words | 4 Pages

Antigone and Gilgamesh eventually confront the repercussions of their acts, which result in personal tragedy as well as a wider disruption of societal order. His tyranny and repressive behavior cause the people of Uruk to suffer, forcing them to cry out for help. Disturbed by Gilgamesh's pride, the gods decide to interfere by creating Enkidu as a counterweight to Gilgamesh. " To the one who survives [the gods] leave grieving; the dream leaves sorrow to the one who survives" (Gilga; L.75) After Gilgamesh loses Enkidu, he grieves and later becomes humble.

Read More
719 Words | 3 Pages

Generally, when a person works hard to gain an item that s/he has been looking for a long time. They will often keep it for themselves and not think of sharing it with others. Nonetheless, Gilgamesh decides to share this marvelous youth reviving plant with the old men in his kingdom and plans to revive his youth last. This detail shows that Enkidu changed Gilgamesh for the better because before Gilgamesh met Enkidu, Gilgamesh only thought about himself and demanded to be

Read More
1088 Words | 5 Pages

The heroes in the two epic poems The Epic of Gilgamesh and Beowulf are very similar in terms of their values. Beowulf in the poem Beowulf and Gilgamesh in the poem The Epic of Gilgamesh are the two main characters. The two men possess great physical strength unmatched by any man from the ancient or middle period.

Read More
759 Words | 4 Pages

Through their relationship they become wiser and more viable assets to each other and their society. Before meeting Enkidu, Gilgamesh was a powerful leader, revered by his subjects, but his arrogance and egotism fueled his decisions. Contradistinction, Enkidu had only physical power; he was mentally incompetent as a human. The text describes their relationship as an intimate one: "'[I fell in love with it], like a woman I caressed it, / I carried it off and laid it down before you, / Then you were making it my partner'" (48-50).

Read More
1147 Words | 5 Pages

Since Gilgamesh and Enkidu are presented as inhuman. Both of them have attained humanity when Enkidu died. Enkidu feels fearful when he is dying, as well as feeling depressed that he is leaving Gilgamesh (55). Thus, through suffering he becomes more mature and obtains the characteristics of

Read More
875 Words | 4 Pages

After six days with the harlot, Enkidu realizes he lost his strength. The harlot gets him to join civilization, so he becomes a normal human. He is treated like a royal until Gilgamesh defeats him in battle. After that Gilgamesh and Enkidu become friends and fight in battles together until Enkidu suddenly dies. Gilgamesh does not want the same fate, so he goes looking for eternal life but dies anyway.

Read More
2075 Words | 9 Pages

Even when he saves countless lives, the hero never intends his quests to benefit anyone else than himself. This is constant throughout the book, and not even at his deathbed does Beowulf acknowledge something that is not about him or gold. He is often preoccupied by money and fame, but the wellbeing of other people is not in his vocabulary. For example, when a dragon begins to terrorize his kingdom, Beowulf 's first thought is not to protect his people. Instead, he says, "I 've never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles.

Read More
1205 Words | 5 Pages

Enkidu was made because Gilgamesh was not capable of being a good King. He was too arrogant and oppressive. Gilgamesh chose to be unfair to his people. Of course Enkidu ends up being a good addition to Gilgamesh 's life. The friendship is beneficial to both Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

Read More

More about Heroic Qualities In Beowulf, Odysseus And Gilgamesh

Related Topics

Open Document