Comparing Greek Myth Heraclês And Disney's Hercules

The Greek myth Heraclês tells a vivid story; one of immeasurable achievement and progression. Such a story deserves to be told to those of all ages, but naturally, a more innocent version of the story must be made in order to properly convey moral values to children. Disney’s Hercules is a prime example of how different a story can be when remade for younger audiences. The cultural values shared by the Greeks are apparent all throughout Greek mythology. However, the values of Americans are vastly different, and thus stories must be told differently to satisfy the morals important to different cultures. The Greek Myth Heraclês and Disney’s Hercules tell a similar story, but are altogether different in the values they demonstrate, such as loyalty,

progression, and innocence.
One key difference in the values held by the parties that created or modified this story is the marital status of Zeus, the ruler of the gods.

In Greek mythology, Zeus has many wives, and does not really show a true sense of compassion or love towards them. In the movie, Zeus has only one wife, and he shows genuine enthusiasm and emotion for her. This is of course done to demonstrate the value of loyalty. Given more than one wife in a children’s movie, Zeus would likely not have properly embodied the ruler of the heavens. Instead, he may be viewed as immoral, and suggest a way of life that is not considered ethical by the parents of children watching the movie. Additionally, including this would likely cause Disney to appear as if they were advocating for that way of life, and in turn tarnish their reputation. Inversely, the myth is not necessarily intended for young readers, and few details are spared to explain Zeus’s character. As a whole, the value of loyalty is not exemplified by characters in Greek mythology; Zeus had many wives, and is often described as intensely disliking them despite taking them as his

spouses.
Another value that is vastly different between the two variants of the story of Heraclês is that of the partially passive nature of many of the characters.

In the movie, a number of characters are intentionally portrayed as evil, but to counteract their somewhat intimidating nature, their manner of speaking is informal and sometimes cynical. The character most considered to be the antagonist is Hadês, the god of the underworld. Because the underworld as it is described in Greek mythology can in a way be attributed to the final resting places believed to exist in different religions, the ruler of it is generally seen as evil. He dictates when people die, and handles their souls after death. Because of this, it would be very easy to strike fear into younger viewers of the audience if he was not made less intimidating. As such, his figure and facial features are drawn to look almost innocent, and his dialogue is not presented in a somber tone. He is instead given a voice that makes him sound as if everything is a joke to him, making cynical observations and quipping about events in the movie. He is not the only character that is presented innocently to make him less intimidating. His “servants”, Pain and Panic, are given rather unpleasant names, but are portrayed as clueless and mostly harmless to make their evil intentions seem less important or immoral. Zeus is another example of this value. In the myth, he can easily be seen as a tyrant, tormenting his fellow gods, and

even his wives. In the movie, he is presented as the ruler of heaven should be, and shows respect to all that do not defy him. Hercules pacifies many of the characters present in the Greek myth Heraclês, and in turn creates a significant cultural difference between this and the original story.
A third and final value between the stories is that of progression. In the myth Heraclês, the hero for which the story is named is not said to be clueless in the beginning. He does not seem to transition as much as the protagonist of Hercules. In the movie, Hercules needs the help of other characters to achieve his goal, and is not always capable of solving problems independently. His movie counterpart portrays him as nearly immortal, even when his actual immortality is taken from him. In his mortal and immortal states, he is never held down by his opponent for long; he is simply invulnerable. This is similar to the myth in many points of his life, but never ends with his death. Being a Disney movie, this is undoubtedly done to lessen the tragedy of the story, or to keep the attention of younger viewers. However, this rather dramatic change also displays the “value” of progression. It would seem that the movie uses his transition from “zero to hero” to emphasize the idea that anyone can achieve greatness, in contrast to the myth, which describes him as having always been heroic and powerful. While progression in and of itself may not be considered a cultural value, what it represents in the movie certainly is. It is important to many cultures that people achieve success mostly independently regardless of their original status, and this is the main focal point of the movie.
There are a number of cultural values held by the Greeks that cannot be properly presented in a movie made for children, including but certainly not limited to loyalty, progression, and innocence. The two versions of this story differ greatly in both the behaviors of the characters, and the structure of Greek mythology as a whole. Given certain characteristics of Greek gods and goddesses, the characters in the movie could easily have offended the children viewing the film or their parents. In order to avoid doing this, the company responsible for the movie’s production changed the story’s characters to align more with the values held by American citizens, as well as make it enjoyable for young children.