The stories of Achilles and Beowulf are transcendent tales that carry threw age by age. The authors of such tales wrote in elegiac way in order to paint the portrait of the hero that would stand the test of time. Achilles and Beowulf are two very different heroes from two diverse cultures. These cultures imprint a special aspect onto the characters in order to reach the audience of the land and to set an example to the people of a true legend to live their life like. Homer and the author of Beowulf present two heroes from different societies that share the common heroic trait of superhuman strength, but each author differs the representation by demonstrating the hero's strength in varying ways and creating different motives for each hero.
The craftsmanship of these stories is extremely important to the overall heroic effect that grasp the reader's mind and throws them into the tales of these great figures. In order for both Homer and the author of Beowulf to achieve their glorious hero they had to get the intrigue of their audience. Beowulf for example shows his strength in multiple ways. The first is his boasting of accomplishments to the Danes upon his arrival to help with the Grendel problem. These accomplishments uttered from the mouth of Beowulf strike respect into the men who later would need him the most. This boasting of strength is also seen in Achilles who is indeed a great orator and from the time he enters into the story he is referred to as the "favorite of Zeus" which is a title fit of a Greek warrior hero. However, Beowulf does projects his strength in a very different way than Achilles. For instance, Beowulf is able to rip Grendel's arm off of his body with his bare hands after rejecting to use a sword and shield. This is important because he seeks to gain the praise of everyone so he must do something no one else could do. Achilles does nothing of the sort.