Comparing The Twelve Labors Of Heracles

In Pietro Francisci’s 1958 film Hercules, the original Greek myth was incorrectly narrated. One of the most glaring differences was Hercules’ name; in the Greek myth his name was actually Heracles, with Hercules being his name in Latin. The film lost some creditability as an adaptation as outlined in the lesson by how the story of Heracles was unveiled specifically by the Twelve Labors of Heracles. However, most of the Twelve Labors of Heracles were not only absent from the film, but the two labors that were present were inaccurately told in comparison to the Greek myth. The labors that were left out of the film were: The Lernaean Hydra, The Cerynean Hind, The Erymanthian Boar, The Augean Stables, The Stymphalian Birds, The Mares of Diomedes, The Girdle of Hippolyta, The Cattle of Geryon, The Apples of the Hesperides, and Cerberus. The two labors that can be compared to the original Greek myth are the Nemean Lion and

Cretan bull as well as Hercules’ final destiny.
In the film Hercules was forced save the town of Jolco from a lion that has already killed several people.

Hercules quickly fought with the lion ultimately choking the beast to death. This scene can be compared to the original myth by Heracles’ first labor was The Nemean Lion, the thing that was special about this lion was that its’ skin could not be pierced by weapons. The only way that Hercules could kill the lion was by straggling it. After he killed the beast he skinned the lion using the lion's own claws and wore the lion as armor. The difference between the movie and the myth is that in the movie there was not a Nemean lion, just an ordinary lion with no special skill set. After the lion was killed, Hercules never skinned the lion; he just left the lion to rot away. There are only two similarities that are present between the myth and the movie; the beast is a type of lion and how Hercules killed the lion by straggling it. Hercules killed the lion by choking it, not because the lion’s skin was unharmed by weapons, but because it was

convenient.
Another labor that is present in the film is the Cretan Bull. Hercules was given the task to square off against the Cretan Bull. Once Hercules confronted the bull, he used hands like hammer and struck the bull on the temple and killed it. The only words spoken to Hercules during the fight with the bull was, “You can kill or be killed”. The adaptation was once again incorrect of the portrayal of the labor. The Cretan bull was actually an American Bison, instead of a bull from Crete. While in Heracles’ seventh labor, Heracles was to capture the Cretan Bull and ship it back to Tiryns, just as he did with the lion, Hercules did nothing with the bull.
Happy endings are rare to come in Greek mythologies and plays; as the Greeks portrayed much of their art as tragedies. That notion is consist with the original Greek myth Heracles. In the film he never became enraged or killed his family, but instead he fell in love with Lole, whom the audiences are introduced to immediately in the opening scenes of the film. Hercules ultimately married Lole at the conclusion of the film.
Pietro Francisci modeled the film after a classic Greek myth, as audiences that viewed the film were given a new story, instead of the actual myth. The adaptation was not only lost creditability by the events that took place, but by the events that were left out of the film. The original Greek myth was called Heracles, however the the change of name could mean that the film was not supposed to be a retelling of the original but a different take on the myth. By changing to the name to Hercules, the director has some room to tweak the story. There were no signs within the film of Heracles doing anything that portrayed him as evil. In addition to changing the Twelve Labors of Heracles, Pietro also changed the ending of the myth to a happier conclusion to the film, by Hercules and Lole getting married. Pietro omitted most of the story that made Heracles’ myth so powerful.