5 Mythical Badasses from the Ancient World

People always had a fascination for good hero stories; with people who are larger than life. This kind of awe still persists to this day. In the ancient times, these heroes took the form of gods and demi-gods and the folk back in those days marveled as their stories were being told by village elders and priests around the campfires. Today, they take the form of comic book heroes. Superhero movies never fail to hit the box-office records.

We are all familiar with the fictional heroes we look up and admire in our day, but for now, we take a brief look at some of the heroes that captivated the people of the ancient times.

#5. Ajax the Greater

Ajax was a mythical Greek hero who fought valiantly in the Trojan War. He was described in Homer's Illiad as a man of great physical stature, towering over his enemies and, indeed, over his comrades in battle as well. His colossal frame was instrumental in the Achean defense. He bore with him a great shield as wide as his body and it was made of several thick hides layered over each other. He was also portrayed not only as somebody strong and powerful but also someone who exhibited intelligence in the field of combat. Ultimately, his tragic yet arguably honorable demise made him the stuff of classic legend.

#4. Sun Wu Kong

Credits go to the original artist

Sun Wu Kong is popularly known as the Monkey King in the Chinese mythological lore. According to the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West, Sun Wu Kong was a monkey born from stone and acquired supernatural abilities through years of practice under Taoist principles. He was further described as a monkey that possessed immense strength, being able to lift his 17,500-pound staff, the Ruyi Jingu Bang, with pure ease. The staff itself is so powerful, it deserves an article of its own. He was also a gifted warrior and was known for vanquishing the best warriors of heaven.

#3. Gilgamesh

Credits go to the original artist

The story of Gilgamesh was written on clay tablets and is considered the first great work of literature. He was first introduced in his story as a king who was two-thirds god and one-third man and was being cruel to his subjects. So, the gods decided to punish him by sending a powerful man-beast named Enkidu to stop him. In a twist of fate, the two became close friends and went to defeat one terrible monster after the other, which made Gilgamesh take his mind off being evil towards his people. This eventually made him realize his own mortal fears and which spurred a quest for his own redemption.

#2. Rama

Credits go to the original artist

Ramayana is one of the two great epics in the Indian culture. It tells the story of Prince Rama of Ayodhya who was the avatar of the god Vishnu. Rama had the skills and talents of a god but was at the same time a mortal man. He was exceptionally skilled in all types of weapons and exhibited academic prowess as well. He was also described as a good looking man which made him popular with the ladies. Later on, he was exiled from his beloved kingdom due to a conspiracy against him. However, that did not phase him. What made him snap was when the King of Demons decided to kidnap his wife and locked her up in the dungeon cell. So, he made alliances with a massive monkey army and destroyed the kingdom of the demons, with all its citizens and generals, brutally killed the Demon King and walked out of the scene with his wife back in his arms again.

#1. Beowulf

Credits go to the original artist

A perpetually hungry swamp monster, a lake-dwelling brood mother or even a dragon, you name it, it's all in a day's work for Beowulf. He was known to have the strength of thirty men in each grip. He can also swim across great distances for days without tiring. However, what is often overlooked and underappreciated about his character is his sense of honor. In many occasions in his story, he exhibited respect not only to those above his station but also to those who were beneath him, as in the case of his encounter with the coast guard in the Danish shores. He also proved that he was not greedy for gold and material wealth when he requested Hrothgar to send his spoils to his Jarl should he end up killed. And when he gave his word to do something, he always delivered, even if it meant courting certain death. Beowulf is the epitome of manly virtue.