Small Scale Battle vs. Total War

Beowulf, Gilgamesh, and The Iliad all involve epic battles. Beowulf fights the monster Grendel. Gilgamesh defeats the beast Humbaba. Finally, Achilles avenges his friend Patroclus by defeating Hector. Both Beowulf and Gilgamesh fight their fight and the battle is over. However, Achilles' battle, on the other hand, is only a small part of a large scale war known as the Trojan War.