This document compares and contrasts the epic poems Beowulf and the Homeric poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. It provides background information on when each was written and its historical context. It then summarizes some of the main heroes and monsters in each work, including Beowulf, Achilles, Odysseus, the Cyclops, Scylla and Charybdis. It also describes some of the monsters Beowulf encounters, including Grendel and Grendel's mother. The document concludes with a short excerpt describing Beowulf's funeral pyre.