What I Have Learned

Reading the epics of Gilgamesh, Beowulf and the Iliad; I discovered through these poems that being a hero does not always mean that you are a great leader; however, to be a great leader these heroes need to show courage, loyalty, and fearlessness. In the epic Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh, battling Humbaba for immortality, shows his courage to the old men in his city; however, Gilgamesh displays disloyalty for younger generations when he still goes to the Cedar Forest because his foil Enkidu explains his terrible dream regarding the forest. In a comparable situation, Achilles, in the Iliad, displays his horrible leadership skills by taking revenge on Hector to the extreme by dragging his body by a horse drawn chariot, for killing his cousin Patroclus. The actions he chose were intense and shows unethical reasoning for his extreme punishments to Hector. Although the previous heroes have given poor examples of heroism, Beowulf, in the epic Beowulf, displays all the characteristics of loyalty, integrity, boldness and courage when he fights Grendel to save the Danes from danger. Beowulf reflects the quote "Great leaders inspire greatness in others", when Wiglaf steps up and helps Beowulf as the dragon breathes his fiery breathe at them. The moral of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and the Iliad, is to embody greatness by becoming a tremendous leader with courage, loyalty, and, fearlessness instead of, being a coward.
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                                                        The battle of Achilles and Hector