Comparing Beowulf and Perseus

In this clean poem (appendix 2) it is apparent that the poet has modeled Beowulf after the Greek hero, Perseus.

1.  Both Beowulf and Perseus are illegitimate; Hrothgar knows Beowulf’s father and the wife given to him by Hretel, but he did not know who bore Beowulf. (Heaney 2000, l. 941-945)  Perseus was born when a shower of gold, Zeus, impregnated Danae.

2.  Both assume a task that involves going to the mythic north, Hyperborea or Ultima Thule,

3.  the killing of a monster female, Medusa and Grendel’s mother,

4.  and a monstrous sea creature, Cetus and Grendel.

5.  The fatal strokes were similar, a wound to the shoulder and beheading.

6.  Both have a winged aid; Beowulf has a ship that flies like a bird; Perseus has a pair of winged shoes.

7.  To achieve their mission both are given a special sword by the same astronomical character, Unferth, Hermes/Mercury, and

8.  in both cases the blood of their victims is magical.

9.  At the end of their mission both live long productive lives.

These common elements indicate that the poet chose the Perseus myth, removed most of the female elements, renamed the hero and moved it north. He remade the story a bit so it was more acceptable to the northern culture. The audience did not have to know the Persus myth to understand the celestial references; they knew when they heard that the Old House, with all the “gold” it possessed originally, was put to sea, it was a reference to the celestial sea, not the mundane one. The poet changed the Perseus material to fit a different culture, but retained the necessary celestial references.

 

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