Part of the reason Beowulf is an epic hero is that he performs heroic deeds not just for his own reputation but also for the good of his people. The poem illustrates Beowulf's concern for both his own people—the Geats—and those of Hrothgar—the Danes.
Early in the poem, Beowulf travels to Hrothgar's kingdom to fight the beast Grendel, who has been terrorizing the land for years. Beowulf volunteers for this task and presents himself as the only person who could end the tragedy that has befallen Denmark. In defeating Grendel and putting his own life in serious danger, Beowulf saves the Danes from the threat. He resolves what Hrothgar calls their "constant distress" (line 937).
Beowulf further protects the Danes when Grendel's mother comes to avenge her son's death. She kills Hrothgar's best adviser, so Beowulf goes down to her cave, alone, again putting himself in grave danger for the...
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common good. Hrothgar tells Beowulf, "help depends / again on you and you alone" (lines 1376-77). His task is to again save the entire nation from the threat of a monster. Once he wins, "the waves and pools / were no longer infested" with "the wandering fiend" (1620-21). Denmark is safe again.
By aiding Denmark, Beowulf also helps his own people by forming a useful alliance. Hrothgar tells Beowulf, "What you have done is to draw two peoples, / the Geat nation and us neighboring Danes, / into shared peace and a pact of friendship / in spite of hatreds we have harboured in the past" (lines 1855-58). Beowulf has healed past wounds and built new bonds for the future. As he returns to his nation, he honors his king and later becomes ruler of Geatland for fifty years. He volunteers himself to fight a ferocious dragon, putting his life at risk, so as not to endanger his fellow Geats. The poem suggests that this may be an error in judgment on Beowulf's part, as he is bested by the dragon, and they lose their protector. The poem ends the somber reflections of Geats who are anxious that they are now vulnerable to enemies. Nonetheless, Beowulf seems to look at his fight as selfless and for the good of the people. He tells his men, "This fight is not yours" (line 2532). He is trying to save the Geats from the threat of the dragon as he once saved the Danes from their two monsters.
Ironically, Beowulf's fateful decision to fight the dragon, though supposed to protect his people, actually endangers them. Beowulf did what any self-respecting warrior king would do, and that's defend his people from any real and present danger. The problem, however, is that in taking on the dragon, Beowulf was risking not only his own life, but the stability of his kingdom.
Nordic peoples regarded the death of a king as a potentially great calamity, leaving a kingdom open to invasion and attack by its rivals. Though Wiglaf will doubtless make for a wise and noble king, it's unlikely that he'll be able to step into Beowulf's boots any time soon. Also, Beowulf's death has revealed just how (over) reliant the Geats were on one man's protection. After Beowulf is killed, Wiglaf angrily calls out the supposed cream of Geatland's warrior class for their cowardice after they shamefully deserted their fallen king. This doesn't augur well for the future. These second-rate soldiers are all that stands between the Geats and a Swedish conquest. Indeed, the messenger who brings news of Beowulf's death gloomily predicts an imminent invasion by the Swedes.