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Fame And Ambition In The Iliad And Beowulf

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How the themes of Fame and Ambition appear in The Iliad and Beowulf Do heroes and warriors truly crave the attention they gain, for showing acts of bravery and heroism? In The Iliad and Beowulf, there are several moments we see how elated the warriors get from fighting and winning battles. Both Beowulf and Achilles describes how powerful they are. From slaying many in the Trojan War, or by defeating sea monsters and dragons, we can tell both men are the greatest warriors of all time. While similar in many ways, because they are both heroes from a different setting and time period, there are also many differences between them. Beowulf is a warrior who is willing to cross oceans in the middle of a storm to slay a demonic monster. While Achilles is quick to anger, he does not go out of his way to kill anyone unless there is a reason. Most notably, …show more content…

He states “I am old, now, But I will fight again,” (? 1) this shows how passionate he is about fighting, and that his age can’t stop him. Even though he is now the king of the Geats, and has an army to fight battles for him, Beowulf still leads his army to another victory against the dragon. Also, Beowulf is enthralled at seeing the fear in people's eyes when he goes to fight another monster. Meanwhile, Achilles would rather have people cheer him on when he flaunts another victory in front of their eyes. In addition, Achilles despises having to fight and wishes his father had “taken a mortal queen” (Homer 2) instead, so he could have had a chance at a normal life. In The Iliad Achilles kills Hector only because Hector killed his best friend. Unlike Beowulf, Achilles does not go looking for battles. But once Achilles finds a reason to fight, he won’t back down. When Achilles is talking to Thetis about Patroclus’s death he says “you cannot make me listen” (Homer 5) no one can stop him from avenging Patroclus. This shows Achilles has to be driven by a personal

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From the battles and fame to their leadership and loyalty both epic heroes gilgamesh and beowulf display the common characteristics of an epic hero. All throughout their journeys both heros come across situations that make them show who they really are and what they believe in. Although certain aspects of their leadership, journeys and personal beliefs are similar the way they display themselves in their personal and public lives make many of their characteristics differ from one another. The leadership styles and qualities of each character helps to define who they are as a person and what they believe in.

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Beowulf, an epic recorded in the year 1060 by the Beowulf Poet, is the encapsulation of what genuine written work is, characterizing the standard of the epic itself. The more modern film of "Beowulf", delivered in 2007, is an endeavor to do equity to the Beowulf Poet's artful culmination. The poem and film have a few key similitudes and contrasts, which impact the reader/viewer. Essential likenesses between the two incorporate the courageous qualities of Beowulf and the separating of Grendel's arm; in any case, the motion picture has some exceptional contrasts from the content, for example, Beowulf's temptation by Grendel's mom, and how the result of this wrongdoing is his child the dragon, while in the content this brute is viewed as a rebel creature.

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The first comparison is how they are both fighting for a good cause, and they are trying to help and protect people. In the epic poem, Beowulf is fighting to destroy the monster that is eating all of Hrothgar’s men in the mead hall. Beowulf defeats the monster and all the other monsters that were being evil and doing

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Gilgamesh was looking for immortality while Achilles wanted glory and fame. Although they both went  through similar ordeals they dealt  with in different ways. Each man was considered a heroic to their cultures for different reason.     We can tell a lot about the priorities and values of Gilgamesh’s and Achilles’ cultures through their heroic actions. It somewhat proved an answer to the way they did things and why

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The first quality they share is courage. The two heroes demonstrate their courage in a different way. Beowulf is a hero with a lot of courage because he fights without weapons. He does not believe in using weapons to kill people. Beowulf is described as: “Dripped with his enemies blood”.

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To be considered an epic hero, one must not only exhibit acts of courage but also perform acts of being superhuman. Beowulf, known for his great feats of strength, is considered to be one of the greatest epic heros of all time. He posses all the qualifications necessary for him to be categorized as being an epic hero. What does it take to be an Epic hero? It's a name given to few.

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He proved he wanted to be a hero by continuing to risk his life for others, no matter the cost. Beowulf’s “…days of … Youth have been filled with glory” (234-235) and he earlier “drove five great giants into chains, [chasing] all of that race from the earth” (246-248) show that he achieved previous accomplishments against the supernatural. Beowulf was an extraordinary hero before defeating Grendel in Herot, and he continues fighting monsters for the betterment of the people, not just his pride. Further, into the story where Beowulf fights the dragon, Beowulf comments he has “never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles. I am old now, But I will fight again…”

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An epic hero is an individual who must evoke a sense of heroism through legendary and inspiring deeds (Merriam-Webster). These heroes of tragedy have the ability to determine their own fortune due to the amount of admired characteristics they possess. However, the ideals of an epic hero are constantly fluctuating due to the ever changing ideals of society. Although the characteristics of an epic hero are under constant modification, Beowulf is still an effective modern-day hero due to his acts of courage, compassion, and dedication in relation to his people. Courage can be defined as any individual possessing moral or mental strength in the face of physical pain or indescribable hardship (Personalitytutor).

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If I stay here and fight before the city of Troy, there will be no home- coming for me but my fame shall never die; if I go home to my native land, there will be no great fame for me, but I shall live long and not die an early death.” (Homer 110) This shows that he is selfishness and fearful at the same time of losing and dying in the war. In the very beginning of the Iliad, King Agamemnon and Achilles have an argument for a couple of different reasons. After, the Achians won a battle against a city that was allied with the Trojans each of them received a prize consisted of a young woman from the war.

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Beowulf and King Arthur are both portrayed as heroes and someone to look up to. Some similarities are both of them are very brave. They are also both very compelling leaders in their own respective ways. Even with their similarities they  have differences in their heroic qualities such as Beowulf not really being a human in the sense that he can do superhuman things and King Arthur being a normal human being. It's also interesting to note that King Arthur was more of a hero for his character whereas Beowulf was more of a hero in the sense that he slays monsters and dragons.

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As has been noted, many of Beowulf 's characteristics are also shared by traditional epic heroes. He 's brave and never "cowers", defeats previously unbeatable monsters, comes from nobility, and has incredible superhuman strength. Beowulf can be compared to any other epic hero, and the similarities found between them will be never ending. However, there are other characteristics that the king of the Geats possesses which make him be very different from most epic heroes. First, there is the issue with Beowulf 's lack of a moral compass.

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In the epic poem, the Iliad written by Homer, several characters taking part in the warfare between the Achaeans and the Trojans are portrayed as embodying the heroic code of courage, physical strength, leadership, arete of value of honour, and the acceptance of fate. The heroic code is illustrated by the actions of the Trojan prince, Hector and the Achaeans strongest warrior, Achilles. Both of these characters display the Greek’s image of a hero, and can also let the reader discern what the society admires, looks up to and aspires to in its heroes. There are also characters who fail to be heroic, such as the Trojan “vivid and beautiful” prince, Paris. These characters in the Iliad illustrate the qualities that Ancient Greek society values.

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Eventually Patroclus gets killed. Achilles is humiliated and regrets his actions. He vows to avenge Patroclus’ death. His humility causes him to fight to redeem himself, he returns back to the path of being a hero. These examples are only a few of the many that are in the Iliad, but they explain exactly what hubris

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Patroclus was killed by Hector while he was under the impression Patroclus was Achilles, “But I’ll tell you something else— bear this in mind—you’ll not live long yourself. Your death is already standing close at hand, a fatal power. For you’ll be destroyed at brave Achilles’ hands, descendant of Aeacus” (Homer, Iliad 16. 989-993), this foresight shared by dying Patroclus shows Achilles will kill Hector in search of retribution. Since Hector killed Achilles best friend Achilles doesn't care about pride anymore, just revenge.

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Iliad is recognized as one of the most famous ancient monuments of literature. The full understanding of this epic poem is hardly possible without thorough analysis of its main characters. Among all the episodes of the Trojan War, Homer chooses the moment of Achilles’ wrath and thus creates a poem in which he becomes the central figure. From the Ancient Greeks’ point of view, Achilles represents the ideal of manliness and pure heroism, for he is brave and fights for heroics, not profits. Today, one can agree with this interpretation, yet Achilles is probably the most controversial character because he combines various personality traits and acts in accordance with his ambiguous nature.

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