Beowulf
Beowulf is a character most people in
America learn about from a high school text book. I reread Beowulf to do my own comparison between him and Herakles. I was
quite surprised by the amount of Christian influence in the translation that I
read. Beowulf seems to have many characteristics of Jesus, which would make an
interesting study.
Beowulf is quite similar to Herakles,
especially with the epitaphs used to describe the two heroes. Beowulf’s
incredible strength and manly valor are referred to repeatedly in this epic
(lines 197, 637, 751-752, 1557-1562, 1789-1790, 2084, 2502). Like Herakles,
Beowulf has killed many terrorizing monsters other than Grendel and his mother
(l. 420-422). The fight between Beowulf and Grendel was without weapons, which
is similar to Herakles’ fight with the Nemean Lion.
Beowulf is protected by God as Herakles is protected by some of the gods.
Other similarities include scenes of Beowulf preparing his armor, the
significance of the numbers 12 (l. 147) and 50 (l. 1498, 2209), the description
of Beowulf’s hilt (The Shield of Herakles), his sidekick Hrunting (like
Iolaus), his long journey, and his protection of friends.
There are also quite a few dissimilarities
between Beowulf and Herakles. Herakles does some terrible deeds in his life; he
kills scores of people. Beowulf, however, was a good man. He defeated his
enemies and protected his allies. He killed only in retribution for killing his
friends. Herakles was known to kill because he did not receive his prize for
victory. Beowulf was also a ruler of distinction, and Herakles never ruled at
all. Beowulf did not become a god at his death. He remained a greatly honored
hero.
Many people point out similarites in the
deaths of Beowulf and Herakles. While similarities exist, there are also major
differences. Beowulf was already dead when he was laid on his funeral pyre;
Herakles was still alive. Beowulf chose his time of death. He was an old man and
knew that he would not survive this last fight. Beowulf died in the defeat of
another monster. Herakles died at the hands of his wife by the poison of
monsters he already defeated. Both heroes were burned in the manner of
sacrifices to the gods. “Heaven swallowed the smoke” (l. 3155) of
Beowulf’s pyre. Herakles became a god as the smoke of his pyre reached heaven.
Beowulf and Herakles are probably similar
in their origins. They seem most connected as the typical heroes of
Indo-European cultural descendents. As with Gilgamesh, the best connection
between Beowulf and Herakles is the basic story of complex heroes. Herakles is
an extremely complicated character; Beowulf is more straightforward.
Huppe, Bernard
F. (1987). Beowulf:
A New Translation. Binghamton, NY; Medieval &
Renaissance Texts & Studies.