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The concept of fate and religion are abundant throughout both The Iliad and Beowulf. Although Christianity is not clearly mentioned in either of the two poems, Christian ideals are often used. Sacrifice, evil, respect for higher powers, and respect for the dead are all issues that the two poems deal with and hold in high regard.
In the Iliad, superiority of higher powers is often a focus of the mortals. Agamemnon, a Greek war hero “…Sacrificed… a fat bull of five years” and prayed to the gods for success in the war against the Trojans. It can easily be assumed that if the sacrifice had not been made that the Greeks would not have done as well as they did in the war. Furthermore, while Agamemnon was praying the Achian soldiers "Prayed to be spared from death in the maul of war.” The idea of prayer to a higher power in order to seek glory and to avoid or prolong the fate that comes with fighting in a war (death) is constantly being practiced. It is clear they the fate of war is thought to be death because "The god of war is impartial: he hands out death to the man who hands out death." (Book 18, page 293) An example of a time where the g
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Christianity founds itself around the idea of good, not evil, the idea of respect and love, not hate and slander. Beowulf swims down (also the idea on the location of hell) through the infested water until he reaches Grendel’s mother. Christianity believes these things and they are all displayed in the Christian bible, which is simply a collection of Christian books. Ideas of proper burial for the dead, sacrifice in one’s life for the greater glory of god, respect for one another, and the evil of sin are all surface issues of Christianity. Immediately, when they begin to fight, Beowulf strikes his opponent with the sword and it melts down to its handle. He then has to rely upon his God given talents in order to survive. Once the evil was destroyed the water was no longer infested with small creatures, symbolizing that the evil of the area was no longer existent. Thetis, his mother, delivers the news, he does as the gods have told him to, which is to provide respect for the dead. Its main idea is that humans must do what God wants them to do, that there are basic rules and ideas and beliefs that should not be broken and if they are the person should repent for their actions. When Achilles finally kills Hector at the end of the epic, " First he slaughters Hector, he rips away the noble prince's life then lashes him to his chariot, drags him round his beloved comrade's tomb. ods were not honored was when the Greeks went to burry their dead without proper sacrifice to the gods.
Furthermore, Beowulf has multiple examples of the Christian idea that we must trust God and the abilities he has granted us.
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