The Odyssey is one of ancient Greece’s great Epics because of the mighty Odysseus. Likewise, the story of Beowulf is an example of an Epic. Epics are stories told on a grand scale, with armies, heroes, gods, and the brutal forces of nature depicted over long character arcs and sweeping landscapes. Protagonists meet with obstacles and disaster, action and triumph. Epics are mythological histories; they meld together famous figures from history and historical events. Some characters and events in epics are historical, like the Trojan War, while other characters are mostly or purely mythological.
An epic usually contain the following six elements: A hero of legendary proportions, adventures of superhuman strength and valor, multiple settings, involvement of the supernatural, epic style of writing, and omniscient narrator. These two tales can categorized as an epic because of the elements of the genre of epic that are found in the story. For example, The Odyssey is obviously an epic tale because of the supernatural characters, the use of simile and metaphors, and the legendary hero, and the omniscient narrator. Within each tale, Odysseus and Beowulf are the “epic” heroes.
Three of Beowulf’s most epic characteristics are strength, honor, and the ability to rule justly. An epic hero is brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. Both Odysseus and Beowulf show those characteristics. Both Odysseus and Beowulf are the narrators of the story. They are not just the narrators, but they are the omniscient narrators. The stories are told in third person. The stories are told Panthovong 2 from their perspective, and we learn more about the story because of what they let us know.
Sometimes, Beowulf and Odysseus will tell the reader information even before it happens. Because they are omniscient narrators, it is like they are the Gods in the story, and we see the story from the view of a God. That is an element of an epic tale, and it also relates to religious elements. Also, both Odysseus and Beowulf have supernatural characteristics. They are both known as the handsome, monster fighting heroes. They are able to do things that a normal character in the story cannot do. They can fight of other characters that seems impossible. Beowulf tells the tory of when he was able to beat all of his friends in swimming in the sea of Brecca. That seems normal, but then he seas that a group of sea monsters came to attack him, and he was able to kill them all by himself. He has and tells of his super strength and abilities. Odysseus is the sane supernatural character in the story of the Odyssey. He defeated the suitors by himself and that shows he was above the normal men. Religion is a big part of both stories. It is not a “christian tale,” but they are examples of the religion that was practice during the time the stories were written.
Beowulf was written in Christianized England, since conversion took place in the sixth and seventh centuries. Yet the only Biblical references in Beowulf are to the Old Testament, and Christ is never mentioned. The poem is set in Pagan times, and none of the characters are known to be Christian. Beowulf’s own beliefs are not expressed explicitly. He prays to a higher power, calling himself to the “Father Almighty” or the “Wielder of All. ” In Beowulf, even though it isn’t talked about clearly, there are many elements of Christian philosophy: that man survives only through the protection of God, that all earthly gifts flow from God, and that the proper bearing of man is to be humble and unselfish.
However, there is also a Panthovong 3 strong sense of heroic pride within Beowulf which is at times in direct conflict with these Christian values. There are issues of pride vs. humility and sacrifice vs. selfishness. In “Further Celebration at Heorot” , Hrothgar reminds Beowulf of the lessons of the Greek tragedians: that pride, untempered by humility, will result in the tragic fall. But he also teaches the lessons of Christian philosophy: that wealth, accumulated through the grace of God, must be shared nselfishly. An view of religion in Beowulf, is Grendel sees no logic in religion and in turn, very little credibility or purpose. He sees religious customs and rituals as “crazy” and sees no value or legitimacy in ceremonies and traditions.
To Grendel, religion appears as simply some sort of entertainment. He goes so far to even refer to priests as “ShowMen. ” The concept of no afterlife derives from the Pagan Vikings, whose beliefs are that you achieve an “afterlife” if you are among the honored dead whose deeds are remembered and still spoken of The Beowulf poem epicts a Germanic warrior society, in which the relationship between the lord of the region and those who served under him was of paramount importance. However, one principle in Beowulf that is accurate is we should not be prideful and selfish.
We should share our wealth with others and be humble, because it is not even our wealth; it is God’s. The views of Grendel are not the same as what christian should believe. Christianity is not a game or entertainment. And Christianity is not just about blind faith or a made up story in the bible. There are parts about having a relationship with God, that you do have to have faith of ome unknowns. We are not omniscient, so there are some things we cannot possibly know. However, we do not have bind faith, there are many historians, even historians that are not christian, that say history aligns with the teaching of the Bible. Also, the people in Beowulf were pagan and believed that afterlife was for the people who did enough good deeds. That is also not Panthovong 4 accurate.
There is no way we can ever do enough good deeds to earn our way into heaven. We should try to live as close of a “perfect” live like Jesus as we can, but we can only do with God’s race. We mess up and fail all the time, but if we have a relationship with God, than we do not have to worry if we will go to heaven. Death, the way it is represented in Homer’s book, The Odyssey, is always caused by human error. Whether their death was caused by greed, selfishness, or just being curious, many people died in The Odyssey. The Greek beliefs of gods and death are different from the modern day beliefs of other religions such as Judaism and Ancient Egyptian beliefs. For example, The Odyssey begins with a scene containing a conversation among the gods.
The goddess Athena, goddess of war and wisdom, is discussing the matter of Odysseus with Zeus, the head god and god of sky (Homer 10). Of course these are not the only Greek gods and goddesses. Other examples of Greek gods and goddesses are Apollo, god of music, poetry, medicine, archery, and young unmarried men and Hestes, goddess of the home. The Greeks believed in many gods unlike Christians who believed in one god. The Jewish and Christian god does not have an emblem that which it is represented by. The belief is that the god is represented by everything.
For example, members of the Jewish religion believe god is everywhere, in everything, and represented by everything they do. Another example of the religious differences is how Ancient Egyptians believed in idol gods which are gods represented in statues. Ancient Greek beliefs are different. In the Odyssey, the characters would pray to their Gods. Penelope prayed to Athena because she was miserable and suffering. We do the same thing in Christianly. It is not the same though. They would pray to many different Gods for each different problem.
We only pray to one God, but sometimes we pray about the same issues. Our prayers, as christians, should not be about our worries all the time though. We know our God is in control and we should focus on what God wants us to learn and relying on His strength. Also, the people of believed in the greek religion would make sacrifices to the idols or the Gods. They would do this for a blessing or even a confession of sin. We do not do this anymore because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but christians in the old testament did the same thing. Believers had to make offerings and even burt offering to God to appease their sin.
Now, e are able to have a relationship with God without making burt offerings because Jesus dies and paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. The Odyssey and Beowulf are full of elements of the genre of epic. There are so many metaphors, hidden meaning, themes, and comparisons. There are so many comparison between the two hero and the stories too. Christianity is not talked about in the stories, but we can compare their views to each other and what we believe based on the actions made between the characters of the story. Both stories show a lot of suffering, sacrifice, and pursuit of goodness and strength.
