Beowulf and King Arthur The Greats Revealed themselves Many stories about many heroes have been told and then retold. All of these heroes do different things and all have a different set of qualities that make them heroes. Since there are only a limited number of adventures and heroic qualities, most are shared in part with at least one other hero. This is the case between the great hero Beowulf, from the epic poem Beowulf, and King Arthur from the story of Morte d'Arthur. These great heroes have strong similarities and many differences. Once their similarities are compared and then discarded, it is obvious that Beowulf is the greater hero of the two. Real heroes do good things for good people. This is the case of Beowulf, Beowulf leaves his native country to help the Danish people get rid of the human-eating monster, Grendel. This heroic quality is also evident in Morte d'Arthur, as Arthur consciously goes into battle in order to rid his people of an evil knight who would not allow others to pass. The two heroes show their concern for others by risking themselves in battle for the common good. In the same vein, they also strive to gain love and respect from the people they protect. In order to gain maximum respect per battle, Beowulf and Arthur enter the battle somewhat alone. Beowulf specifically asks: That [he], alone and with the help of [his] men, / may purge all evil from [the] hall (Beowulf, lines 165-166). His request is granted by Hrothgar, king of the Danes, so he and his man enter the battle themselves and when Grendel is defeated, the glory, love and respect belong only to Beowulf and his men. Arthur did the same, he met his man and his horse, and so mounted and set up his shield and took his spear, and ordered his chamberlain to remain there until he returned (Morte d'Arthur paragraph 20). Although Arthur begins his journey alone, he meets Merlin, the court magician and faithful companion, who accompanies him. Much like Beowulf, Arthur gains the respect and praise of all men of worship by fighting alone, even though it is not necessarily the smartest thing to do. The characteristic of being fearless in the face of death is often a trait of heroes as it is associated with courage and strength. King Arthur and Beowulf are not afraid to die, showing their courage to their adversaries and peers. When Arthur is faced with death, he declares, welcome when it comes, but to give me up to you as a [coward] I would rather die than be so ashamed. (Death of Arthur, paragraph 34). Simply put, he would rather die than admit defeat and cowardice. Beowulf feels much the same way about death. He illustrates this by showing no fear for his own life but rather expressing concern for the honor of King Higlac by requesting that, if death prevails, he send the hammered mail of [his] armor to Higlac ( Beowulf, line 186). -187). By sending his armor to his king, he recommits himself to his country and allows his king to remember his bravery every time he looks at it. This is how similar Beowulf and King Arthur are. Beowulf has much more confidence in his fighting abilities than Arthur does in his. This is evident in the fact that Beowulf fights Grendel unarmed, he says my hands / Alone will fight for me, fight for life (Beowulf, lines 172-173). His reasoning behind this is that Grendels, the contempt of men / Is so great that he needs no weapon and fears none [therefore] / And neither does [he] (Beowulf, lines 167-169 ). By facing Grendel without a weapon, it shows that he is courageous and, above all,.