Zero to Hero: Monster Battles Throughout the Ages

Zero to Hero: Monster Battles Through the Ages

Ezra Pound believed that time was cyclical. As depicted in his Cantos, events are constantly reoccurring and tropes tend to reappear throughout history. We can see this firsthand when looking at the biblical tale of Noah and the great flood that wiped out most of humanity, a story that has its origins in the Babylonian epic Atrahasis. It seems that many tales took their lead from Sumerian, Babylonian, Greek and Roman mythology, the Anglo-Saxxon story of Beowulf being no exception. Beowulf, a Geatish hero, resembles the Greek hero Heracles in multiple fashions, but the moment I will be focusing on is Beowulf's fight with Grendel mirroring Heracles' fight against the Nemean Lion.

Starting with the arrival of Beowulf in the Danes, we already see a similarity to Heracles: both heroes are foreigners, coming from another land to solve a monster issue. Even their motivations for setting out on such quests aren't too far removed; both are driven by a debt that needs to be paid (not to mention a bonus of heroic glory on the side). Heracles was atoning for the murder of his first wife by being the glorified errand boy of King Eurystheus; shipped off to Nemea to conquer a beast invulnerable to weaponry. Beowulf is in a similar boat, sailing across the sea to defeat the murderous Grendel whose hide was so tough “that no blade on earth, no blacksmith's art / could ever damage their demon opponent” (Haney 802-803). Upon arrival, both men are welcomed into their respective lands not out of warm intentions springing from the heart, but because they might prove useful in solving a pretty monstrous problem.

So what do these men do when finally confronted by the most dangerous of beasts? Throw their weapons aside of course (with an added perk of no clothing from Beowulf). It's hand-to-hand combat for these guys, nothing else. The reasoning behind this choice of action is solid: Heracles and Beowulf quickly processed that fighting their respective enemies with sword or spear would only be cumbersome since nothing can pierce the monsters' hides. And to top off both these heroes incredible displays of masculinity, Grendel gets to have his arm ripped off by Beowulf while the Nemean Lion is choked out by those chiseled arms of Heracles.

The incredible similarities between these two heroes isn't particularly surprising seeing as all heroes tend to follow the same roads to heroism. It's standard for a Greek or Roman hero to be birthed into an aristocratic or noble family where they can learn the the arts of swordsmanship, archery, wrestling, and speech craft. Each of these activities were viewed as luxuries and therefore not generally doled out to the common rabble in an aristocratic society. These tropes are central to the establishment of a hero not only because they provide all the necessary mechanisms for battling demons and rescuing damsels in distress, but also because they drive the story to an inspirational (if not classist) ending.