Hercules: The Myth Of The Ancient Greek Hero

In the film, “Hercules”, there were many comedic characters incorporated. The creators of this movie wanted and needed to incorporate things to make it popular to the masses, therefore they added things like love and comedy. In this case they added characters like Pegasus, Phil, Pain, and Panic. However in the myths there is no need to incorporate any comedic relief because these were written to give us an accurate dictation of the Greek Gods and Goddesses and all of their tales. Therefore they needed to be gorey, painful, and difficult. While the Disney version needed to appeal to the masses and capture their attention right

Disney’s Hercules depicts the classic mythical tale of the infamous demi god. Evil Hades, Hercules grows up on Earth but has godly strength from which he doesn't know originates. When he discovers his immortal heritage, Zeus calls him to return to Mount Olympus to become the champion he is destined to be. Eventually, Hercules evolves to be a famous hero with the help of Pegasus and Phil the satyr. Through his journey he takes on mythical monsters, Titans, and Hades. In the end it is his sacrifice that make him a true hero.

The movie chosen is Disney’s Hercules. It starts with Hercules birth in Olympus, however, Hades quickly kidnaps him. On Earth, Hercules escapes and is raised as a normal Greek child Zeus reveals to Hercules that he is his true father and for Hercules to return to Olympus as a god, Hercules must prove himself as a great hero. Hercules sets off to do so while Hades constantly tries to have him killed. In the final act, Hercules thwarts Hades plot to conquer Olympus, but Hercules love interest Meg has died. Hercules agrees to sacrifice himself, so Meg can live again. This act deems him worthy in Zeus’s eyes and Hercules godhood is restored. Hercules declines immortality so he can stay on Earth with Meg.

The Disney Hercules is born of the Olympian gods, Zeus and Hera, after which he is kidnapped by Hades, the ruler of the underworld, who wishes to overthrow Zeus and usurp this throne. However, he needs Hercules out of the way first. Although Hades' plan to kill Hercules in infancy fails, Hercules is turned into a mortal on earth, where he is left feeling like an outcast. After Hercules leaves his (unbeknownst to him) adoptive parents to find his destiny, he discovers his true origins and strives to return to Olympus by becoming a true hero. But to do this, he must first learn what it means to be a "true hero" while overcoming the obstacles that Hades throws his way. Although this plot is entertaining to younger audiences, it deviates from the original myth, according to which Heracles was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman (a demi-god). In addition, neither was Heracles kidnapped by Hades, nor did Hades want to overthrow Zeus; he submitted to Zeus and sought pleasure in ruling the Underworld. Accordingly, Disney chose to represent Hades as the antagonist in this movie due to his role as leading the Underworld. Although the Underworld was not correlated to Hell in any way, the stereotypical idea of the Underworld being a symbol of evil was still present. Therefore, Disney's choice of casting Hades as the evil character in this movie is justified as a Hercules has to defeat some kind of evil before emerging as a

The great tale of Hercules is one with great tragedy; however it holds powerful messages for those who read it. Of course in the Disney story they do leave out details that portray the violence Hercules performs on his family. I feel Disney left people confused as to why society rejected him for his strength when in a normal society today we would praise those with talents. However kids focus on surface details. To someone like me a lot of these messages are rooted deeply. I do feel that Disney does a sufficient job at telling the tale. There is a certain level of mindset you as creator of a children's story has to get on in order to deliver an appropriate, successful, and entertaining child story. While the characters are watered down and kid friendly also the way the gods are depicted as being good and friendly is not even close to accurate. .However in Disney messages are successfully delivered in a child friendly way in which adults can understand and appreciate it.

In the film, Hercules’ mother is Hera and his father is Zeus. Having both of his parents as gods, Hercules is a god. However, Heracles has a complex birth. Heracles’ mother is the mortal Alcmene and he has two fathers: Amphitryon and Zeus. As such, Heracles is a demi-god from birth.

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.

At first glance it seems that Hercules and “Heraclês” are about the same. There is a lot that is similar, but there is also a lot that is different. A lot of what was changed was because of cultural values of the times that the two were made. A few cultural value changes include heroism, love, and family.

Every person, place, thing, or idea can be improved upon. The Disney movie Hercules has changes that some might call improvements from the Greek myth “Heraclês”. These differentiations are not just there to improve the entertainment factor, but they also relate to real world problems and improvements. Differences between the Disney movie Hercules and the classic Greek myth “Heraclês” highlight the cultures’ contrasting values in the areas of family values, women’s rights, and childrens values.

For my research paper I chose to explore and analyze instances of the great Greek/Roman hero, Heracles (Hercules), appearing in popular culture and the effect his myths had on early civilizations. Considered by most to be the greatest of the Greek folk heroes, Hercules was the embodiment of masculinity and physical power. The word “herculean” literally translates into “having enormous strength, courage, or size” (dictionary.com.) Since their inception, the myths and legends of Hercules have been immensely popular and have had vast influences on people and cultures throughout the world. Over the next few pages I will attempt to compare and contrast several examples of Hercules’ representation in pop culture with the underlying

Hades, the evil genius, is out to seek revenge on the other Gods because he feels he is unappreciated and powerless, compared to his all mighty brother Zeus and other family members. At the beginning of Hercules, Hades was simply a mistreated God who Zeus had selfishly forced to be the God of the Underworld; a dreadful, miserable place where souls go to suffer. Hades rarely has an important role in the lives of the other Gods, who spend their time living on Olympus; a wonderful and lively kingdom. Hades is jealous of the fortune of the other gods living on Olympus. He states, “but unlike you gods lounging about up here...I regrettably have a full-time gig...that you, by the way, so charitably bestowed on me” Hades is the ruler of the underworld, as he calls it, a dark and gloomy place, as well as, always full of dead people. So he feels he has been treated unfair and deserves more. Unfortunately there is no way to change this fact, unless you are Hades of course. Hades, being the evil genius he is, has a plan to take revenge on the Gods. In this plan he intends to destroy Olympus and rule the Gods forever. Because Hades is less fortunate than the other Gods, he is very overlooked by them. He feels that he has been put in a place where he cannot truly be a

Throughout the movie and book Hercules I could spot many differences and similarities. The movie Hercules has the antagonist by the name of Hades, what proves he’s the antagonist is the fact that he is trying to rule Mount Olympus and goes after Hercules and Zeus to get his spot in the Family line. Hercules the movie has the plot structure of Man vs. Society because Hercules is defeating evil and tries to prove the people he is a god. The theme of the movie is, it doesn’t matter whether you're strong or famous what matters is that you stay true to your heart. In this movie there are many characters such as Phil (trainer), Hades (Villain), Megara (His Love). Hercules in the movie was adopted and found by his “mother” in the beginning her name

Authors, poets, and film directors have all used ancient stories to create new pieces of literature and film works for modern times. The animated Disney film Hercules (1997) and the myth of Hercules share the background of audience-driven narratives; however, Disney's aspiration to fill the theaters and earn money results in an unblemished narrative, while the original myth portrays an imperfect model to a flawed humanity.

Greek hero Heracles. Hercules's mother was Alcmena or Alcmene, the wife of King Amphitryon of Troezen. His father was none other than Zeus, the king of the gods, who disguised himself as Amphitryon and visited Alcmena on a night that lasted as long as three ordinary nights. Hera, Zeus' jealous wife, was determined

     The inhabitants of different cities had their fears put to rest when Heracles came to town. Many of the twelve tasks that Heracles endured involved killing things that had the people living in fear. The people of the cities as well as continued generations following considered Heracles to the greatest of heroes. The Disney version, Hercules, the Latin name for Heracles, was a completely different version. Its portrayal of the story was inaccurate in a lot of ways. It painted the picture as Hercules’ enemy being Hades. It depicted Hercules through the eyes of what society considers a hero now.