When people think about what being a “hero” is, thoughts such as selflessness, strength, courage, or even superpowers come to mind. Modern-day superheroes include Spider-Man, Thor, and Captain America while every-day heroes include doctors, firefighters, and police officers. However, the hero that was known to all mankind around the years 500 to 1100 was Beowulf. The fantastic tales of Beowulf were passed along by word of mouth as stories of his fierce encounters with monsters, heroic victories in battle, and glorious spoils of treasure spread across sixth-century Scandinavia. In the eleventh century, when the epic was finally written down, religious monks slowly faded away prominent Anglo-Saxon culture and glory of paganism into Christianity throughout the course of the plot. …show more content…
He boasted the glory of his past victories and was hungry for more. The perfect opportunity came in the form of a horrible monster named Grendel, who was terrorizing Herot and the land of Hrothgar. Seen as “the strongest of the Geats, greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world (Raffel 44),” Beowulf decided to sail himself and fourteen of his men to Denmark and engage Grendel in combat. When the Geats arrived, Beowulf bragged about his previous conquests to Hrothgar in true pagan fashion when he said, “I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from earth…I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean…now Grendel and I are called together (Raffel 48).” To further reap victorious glory, Beowulf decided to fight Grendel without armor and only a shield and sword. Beowulf exactly symbolizes the Anglo-Saxon traits of love of action and adventure and believing that fame through victory was the only true way to become