Epic Hero and the Values of the Society Essay

The hero of an epic is characterized by their extraordinary abilities and strength which answered them to meet entirely the ch every(prenominal)enges they privation to face along their journey. They atomic number 18 the primary(prenominal) subjects of these long narrative epic poems. The epic hero is separated from the rest of the people. They be universe admired by others for their ability to do what ordinary serviceman would non attempt to do. The birth of these heroes was taken account into. These men are bandaged to play an principal(prenominal) role in their society. They also became the reflection of the set of their society. Epic heroes are mythical characters taken from the ancient cartridge clips.These heroes are epic because of their impressive and heroic deeds that can surpass what ordinary man can do. More specifically an epic hero must posses indisputable qualities to recognize him as a real epic hero. They must receive great physical strength. They are more than clever and cunning than the ordinary. They are adventurous and brave. They are not easily intimidated or frighten by the challenges ahead of them. They impart goals and are highly determined to relieve oneself their quest for something they believed is of great value for him and to his people. They are victorious most of the time with the disputes they encounter.Their success gave them recognition. Their society may choose him to be their rightful loss leader or ruler because of the marvelous thing they proved they can do. subsequently learning this things about an epic hero one can notice among epic poems this pattern of the heroes characteristic. They seem to be similar in more ways. Along with other epic heroes of all times are the call like Beowulf, Gilgamesh and Odysseus. Looking at how each of the heroes had transformed themselves through the assorted test and preparation they undertake in the beginning they are recognize as heroic leading.They come from different backgrounds and culture which they typically embodies. Beowulf the Old incline Epic Who is Beowulf? What was his exploits? What values where important in his society? These are the questions that provide guide us to discover more about the epic hero Beowulf. This epic poem had been written in England though the setting of the horizontal surface could have been in Scandinavia. Beowulf as many knew is one of the most important surviving Anglo-Saxon classic literatures. This epic was believed to have been written among the 8th and 11th centuries. (Foster, 2003) Beowulf was recognized as a Geat.He was cognize by others as a super human. One of his greatest achievements was when he defeated Grendel in an encounter. Beowulf fought one-on-one with Grendel which was known as a behemoth an enemy of the people of that time. Beowulf came to rescue the people of that kingdom from Grendel. To show his made defeat of Grendel he brought plateful Grendels head. During the struggl e, he won because of the help of a magical giant sword. Beowulf then also battle with Grendels mother who was plunge deep into the earth. He faced alone the ogre institute in the underworld. After he won in this mishap he didnt become immediately the new king.He fought for the lot along with King Hygelac. King Hygelac died during a snap and was then offered the sight but he refused and let the kings son get the throne. Because of his many heroic acts the Danes were please. The Danes and the Geats are then united. The people now expect Beowulf to be their new king. He must face other more dangers to prove himself worthy to be called the King of the Geats. His last battle winding a fight with a dragon. By that time he was in old age and has been ruling the Geats when the dragon came and threatened his kingdom. He need to defeat this dragon to save his people from danger.He must try his own life to achieve his goal of saving the kingdom. In this battle he successfully killed the dragon but it left him seriously wounded. He then had to face his death. Odysseus The Greek Mythical Hero After Beowulf is other famous epic hero by the name of Odysseus. Odysseus also with Latin name Ulysses was the reigning ruler of the island kingdom of Ithaca. (Hunter, 1997) unlike Beowulf this man was already enthroned as a king. In the Trojan War he was the appoint heroic figure meaning he was among the well known leaders of the Trojan War. Odysseus was actually reluctant to join the expedition.Even if he doesnt want to join the battle he still fought heroically in the Trojan War. He even led the dangerous nocturnal raid together with Diomedes. It was believed that Odysseus was one of the originators of the Trojan horse which were used by the Greeks to ultimately take over the city of Troy. His journey was specially guided by divine intervention. After the Trojan War Odysseus next quest is to successfully return home with his family. Now returning back on his family was his main goal but the journey is very difficult and there are many things he needed to pass through.He also necessitate to face the underworld just like Beowulf who fought in the world of the dead. The passing with Odysseus is that he didnt fight but rather talk and occupy some questions. In this journey he came to the point that he need to choose between mortality and immortality. He chose mortality because he wants his home together with his wife genus Penelope. Going back home he encountered different tragedies like when his ship was destroyed by a thunderbolt and a storm and when he was trapped in island of the Nymph Calypso.Many things have happened after the war and on the way home. When Odysseus came at last he found that there were problems in Ithaca also. It took about twenty years before he successfully returned to his home. He found out that his wife Penelope had remained faithful to him all through those years even though there are pressures for her to get married again. He arrived at the palace and found the suitors of his wife. He pretended to be a beggar and destroyed all of them afterwards.