In 1949, Joseph Campbell, a writer and mythologist, published a book titled The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In it, Campbell proposed his theory that hundreds of hero stories can be summed up in a twelve-step pattern. Half of the cycle takes place in the hero’s regular world. The other half takes place in a special, unknown world. The cycle doesn’t only apply to ancient heroes; many modern heroes, such as Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games series, and Harry Potter of the Harry Potter series, fit in this sequence. Evidently, modern hero characters can be traced back to this simple pattern. One such hero that has been introduced in recent decades is Hercules, from the 1997 Disney movie Hercules. Hercules, like countless other heroes, fits …show more content…
Then, he is suddenly forced into an unknown environment; a huge difference between his regular circumstances and his new one is established (Vogler). Hercules, who is the hero of the film Hercules, is presented as the baby of loving parents and Greek gods Zeus and Hera, who reside on Mount Olympus. Zeus creates a winged horse named Pegasus, since he wants Hercules to have a friend. Everything in their life is perfect. However, baby Hercules is unexpectedly stolen in the middle of the night by Pain and Panic, the devious minions of the wicked Hades (Hercules). They almost take Hercules’ powers after they give him a mystical potion. A loving couple, Amphytryon and Alcmene, discover Hercules all alone and decides to adopt him. Hercules grows to be a young man, but the citizens of his town despise him and call him a freak because of his strange power. Hercules’ ordinary world is composed of all these events. …show more content…
The gravity of the situation seems too heavy to handle. He is extremely overwhelmed; he has just been called upon to complete a daring adventure. His indifference is justified, since he has no idea what to expect on this journey. However, some sort of event takes place that makes the hero reconsider the possibility of going on the journey (Vogler). In Hercules, Hercules doesn’t know what he’s about to get himself into. He is quite surprised after he meets Zeus in his statue form. However, once Zeus tells him that he can be a god, Hercules becomes eager to set out on his journey
Hercules was child born in a small village who was very strong. He was loved by both his parents and by all the village, because he was very generous with his ability. As he got older he kept growing even stronger. He did many odd jobs around the village to earn his living. One day a strange and terrifying roar came from the forest outside the village. The roars did not stop, but continued for several days. When the villagers realized the sound would not stop and could even be a threat, it was decided that Hercules, as the strongest man in the village should go to investigate, as he would be at the least risk. Hercules went, though he was very afraid. When he found the source of the roaring, he discovered it was a wounded lion. The lion was wounded, but was very clearly still mobile and all the more dangerous for being hurt. Hercules crept up on the lion from behind and strangled it. He brought back the head as a trophy to show the villagers. They all admired Hercules's courage as well as his strength. Many more similar incidents occurred and Hercules grew more and more confident until he became far too prideful and began to lose respect. He did not understand why, and when he contemplated his loss of popularity he
Hercules is one of the most famous Greek heros of the ancient times, well known for his heroic achievements and his unbelievable strength. He was someone very special who at the same time was extremely ordinary, in the concept that he faced everyday problems that he had to overcome himself. Although his courageous personal traits make him famous, he was not perfect in all aspects. Hercules was born to a mortal woman by the name of Alcmene and fathered by the greatest God in Greek mythology, Zeus, making Hercules a Demi God.This idea meant that Hercules had some features that were very godly, some divine powers, but at the same time he was a mortal, meaning he could die. It is suspected, that the Greeks invented this idea because they
The Disney movie Hercules illustrates a man’s journey from a mortal to a god. The movie commences with Hercules as a baby being stolen from his parents and given a potion to make him mortal. Consequently, he is discovered by a mortal couple who raise him in their village where, as he grows, he is ostracized because of his strength. After receiving a medallion from his father Hercules discovers his real identity and sets off with his companion Pegasus and his trainer Phil to become a true hero in order to become a god. Furthermore, Hercules has to contend with Meg, his love interest who is under the control of the antagonist Hades. After undergoing numerous trials and challenges set forth by Hades, he eventually succeeds in becoming a true hero
At this point, the hero arrives to a perilous place, and the object of his adventure is not seen upfront (Vogler). Hercules continues his training, defeating all the monsters that Hades throws his way. Also, Meg starts to fall for Hercules. However, Hades says that if she gets Hercules to trade over his strength, he will free Meg (Hercules). She lures Hercules in, and shows signs of conflicted feelings, because she is actually in love with Hercules
Hercules is the son of Zeus and Alcmene, a mortal. This makes Hercules a demi-god and the strongest man ever. Hercules marries a princess, Megara, after defeating the Minyans. Hera, one of Zeus’ wives, is jeleous of Alcmene for having an affair with Zeus. So, to take her anger out, Hera used her powers to make Hercules kill his wife and children. Upset with himself for killing his family, Hercules goes to kill himself. But before Hercules does, Theseus comes to stop him from committing suicide and takes him back with him to Athens. Hercules wants some way to be reconciled for his act. So, he receives his penance from Eurystheus, king of Mycenae. Hercules is given twelve tasks named “the Labors of Hercules.” These adventures are difficult but the worst of all was the twelfth labor. It was to bring up the three-headed dog from Hades. After all of his labors are completed he falls in love with a princess names Deianira, who becomes his wife. In the story when Hercules is on his mission for one of the twelve labors, his friend Admetus’ wife had just died. The story of her death goes back to when Apollo was sent to serve on earth as a slave to Admetus. When Apollo learned that Admetus’ thread of life was at the point of being cut, he proved his friendship by telling him quickly. Apollo said that the only way he could live is if he found a
There are many greek gods and goddess and there are many stories about them. This is how the story of Hercules happened. Hercules was the son of Zeus and the son of Alcmene. Hercules was hated by Zeus's wife Hera, because of a mistake Zeus did during their relationship. This made Hercules have one of the hardest lives ever. Hercules was born as a mortal, but he was very strong and fearless. As Hercules grew up he did somethings that he’ll regret for the rest of his life. Hercules was one of the Strongest gods/goddess, he made some bad choices in his life.
Hercules (the last mortal son of zeus) is one of the greatest heroes of Greece and the most admired. He is best known as the most robust of all mortals and stronger than many of the gods. Although he is highly based off of emotions and having a noticeable lack of intelligence, I am still drawn to his many admirable qualities. Hercules has extraordinary strength and courage. When Hera drove him mad making him kill his wife and three sons in spite of being a son of her unfaithful husband, he sought purification not his own death. He is a hero not only for his strength but he helped save towns from evil monsters like the hydra. Hercules also had a strong sense of self-confidence and bravery. For these traits I praise him greatly.
Although these stories still live on through our literature and movies, modern society has a focus for science and media industries to give us these solutions. Many mythological tales are depicted today with a modern twist. The modern movie of Hercules did follow a portion of the original literature. Although a student whom is familiar with elder sources of the story, cannot help but notice the current standards of today incorporated into this tale. In the beginning of the movie, a narration begins telling the audience brief tales of Hercules. Hera made it clear that she hated Hercules for being a living reminder that Zeus was an unfaithful husband. Hera sends two snakes to kill baby Hercules. In his slumber he awakes and kills them both. The poem of Apollodorus relates very closely to this, ?When the child was eight months old, Hera desired the destruction of the babe and sent two huge serpents to the bed?2.4.8. The scene then moves onto the labors that Hercules is demanded to perform by the gods. It only shows three labors but gives unclear description that he has done more. The narration then comes to a close and show Hercules in his present time. It quickly becomes known that Hercules is the head of a mercenary group. This alliance consists of a spear master who can see into the future. A skilled thief, gifted with knife throwing abilities.
The myths version of Hercules seems to take on the caregiver archetype. Everywhere this version of Hercules goes, he has a pre-existing mission, but he still helps those in need when he comes across them such is the case of the mercy Hercules
Great Strength? Compassion for others? Amazing bravery? If these are the traits you are looking for in a hero, then Hercules is the hero for you! Hercules is a Mythological hero from Ancient Greece. He was one of the bravest hero in all Mythology. He was the most compassionate of all mythological heroes. He had tremendous strength. He battled through the 12 Labors for almost 10 years. Hercules was the last mortal son of Zeus and the only mortal to ever become a god in his death.
Hercules was supposedly the greatest hero to ever live. He is the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, and was tracked all his life by Juno. Juno was unhappy with Jupiter when he cheated on her with Alcmena. She thought Hercules was living proof of her shame and unhappiness. She decided to kill him and so, sent two snakes into his bed, which he killed
Over the years Hercules has gone through many changes. Like many myth’s, while the original will mainly stay the same, how the story is adapted will change. Who the story is marketed too, who is given the resources to be able to produce the story is definitely different today than how it was in ancient times. How people expect their heroes to behave, and who they want their children to look up too is not now how it was centuries ago. Things have changed. But that doesn’t mean that nothing is recognizable. As the comparisons of the two Hercules show, some parts of the story have still been brought over to modern times. It’s core value is still present, and the motivation of Hercules to keep facing life head on hasn’t been edited with the other parts of the movie. Ultimately, the myth and the movie both have their own interpretations of who Hercules should be, but there are parts that still connect the
In the movie, Hercules spends his early childhood in the home of the two mortals who found him, believing them to be his true parents. Hercules, because of his inhuman strength, is isolated from the nearby town, who all alienate him because he does not have full control of his strength and breaks things easily. In the end, Hercules gains control of his strength and uses it to help people, which is fine, but it is not how the Ancient Greeks valued a hero. The Ancient Greeks valued many things, a good family and status being some of them. In the original myth, Heracles was raised a prince, coming from a good birth with an upstanding family with status. In addition, he was a recognized demigod, the son of the king of the Gods himself, Zeus. The notion of an underdog who opposes the popular belief that they are destined to fail, which is seen heavily in Hercules (1997), is a storyline that is more popular in the modern world compared to Ancient Greece. Ancient Greeks believed in the notion of fate and destiny. Great heroes were destined to be great, they were great due to their backgrounds and their own attributes. Their actions may have lead them to become great, but Greek heroes were always destined for great things. The storyline Disney gives is entertaining to a more modern audience, but disregards the Ancient Greek
Today, society has a disparate definition of a “hero” compared to ancient Greece, but while this statement may be true, the heroes today and the heroes then continue to share several similarities, like the traits of being helpful, considerate, and determined, and Edith Hamilton portrays these three key qualities in his novel, Mythology Book. To begin, Hercules, a past hero from ancient Greece, can be compared to a present day hero, a teacher. A teacher acts as a mentor to struggling students in need, just like Hercules who is “needed [for] his help to conquer the Giants” (225). Both of these heroes are greatly vital for people in need, and as a result, they help people in unimaginable ways. For Hercules, he is helpful by protecting his people
Beloved by all Gods, cherished by his father, and set for a life of eternal bliss was the one they call Hercules. Many speak of the great tales of his 12 labors, but not a lot know of his hardest and most challenging, 13th labor. For most, not knowing of the 13th labor is for the best and only the strong willed shall read this tale for it is not for the meek. Even though the mightiest beasts born of Typhon and Echidna were no match to the strength Hercules possessed. It didn’t much matter, his strength on the outside was useless for this test but rather his spirit and perseverance through the toughest of times was needed.