What Is A Myth?
A myth is a purely fictional story that has been passed on for generations, usually involving supernatural persons, actions or events. Hercules (also called Herakles), is one of the strongest and most celebrated mythical heroes. These myths were made up thousands of years ago and have acquired more details as they have been passed down. The story of Hercules is one of a man who was so strong and courageous, whose deeds were so mighty, and who so endured all the hardships that were given to him, that when he died, Hercules was brought up to Mount Olympus to live with the gods.
Hercules was both the most famous hero of ancient times and the most beloved. More stories were told about him than any other hero. He was worshipped in many temples all over Greece and Rome.
Birth of a Hero
The legacy of Hercules began when Zeus, the chief god, fell in love with a mortal woman named Alcmene. When Alcmene’s husband, Amphitryon, was away, Zeus made her pregnant. This made the goddess Hera so angry that she tried to prevent the baby from being born. When Alcmene gave birth to the baby, she named him Herakles (Romans pronounced it "Hercules"). The name Herakles means "glorious gift of Hera". This made Hera even angrier. When Hercules was an infant, Hera sent two serpents to destroy him in his cradle. However, Hercules strangled them, one in each hand, before they could bite him.
When Hercules grew up and had become a great warrior, he married a young woman named Megara. They had two children together and lived very happily. However, things didn’t turn out as they do in the movie. One day, Hera sent a fit of madness to Hercules that put him into so great a rage, that he murdered his wife and both children. When Hercules regained his senses and realized what he had done, he asked the god Apollo to rid him of his sins. Apollo commanded that Hercules do certain tasks as punishment for his wrongs, so that evil might be cleansed from his spirit.
Apollo was a god of prophecy and the Greeks believed that Apollo knew what would happen in the future, and that he could advise people how to act. Hercules hurried to the temple where Apollo gave such advice. It was in the town o...
... middle of paper ...
...ra that Hercules had suffered enough, and Hera agreed. Athena was sent to retrieve Hercules from the pyre and to bring him back to Mount Olympus on her chariot. There, Hercules was to spend his life, as a god.
Bibliography
1. Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia (1996) for Windows 95
2. Webster’s Concise Encyclopedia for Windows 3.1 or 95
3. www.perseus.tufts.edu
Table Of Contents
1. What Is A Myth? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. Birth Of A Hero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3. The 12 Labors Of Hercules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
4. The Death Of Hercules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The 12th labor that Eurystheus would give Hercules would be to do 100 push-ups, 200 pull-ups, 300 sit-ups, and 400 body-squats. Hercules did the work out in sets of 10. He would do 10 push-ups, 20 pull-ups, 30 sit-ups, and 40 body-squats 10 times. It took Hercules one hour to finish the work out. Hercules threw up after finishing the workout. Eurystheus congratulated Hercules for finishing the 12 labors and told him that he was forgiven for the murder of his wife and children. Eurystheus asked Hercules what he was going to do since he was finished with all the labors and Hercules replied back saying that he was going to Disney World.
The dictionary defines hero in mythology and legend as, "a man who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and born of divine or royal blood. He is a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life." In addition, I believe a hero is one to be looked up to and emulated. What is interesting about epic heroes is that their great deeds and exploits all have to do with defeating themselves, so with help from the gods they can truly become heroic. They can only defeat themselves with the help of the gods.
This paper is to show that Heracles is the prime example of a hero’s journey through his actions and the struggles that he faced during his life until he was about to die but instead of death, his father, Zeus, saved him and he conquered the mortal realm, to become a god.
Both telling’s touched on the twelve labors but they were very different renditions. In the original legend the labors are very difficult tasks set forth for Hercules to redeem himself for his past crimes. He spends years of his life devoted to these labors. In the Disney movie the only labor even given its own scene was the hydra labor, which was actually one of the easier labors. The other labors were carried out contemptuously by Hercules in a montage. They provided him virtually no challenge. So while the differences in the legend and the movie are easily notable, the portrayal of Hercules in another Disney work the book " the mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan Is vastly different to that of the movie. In the mark of Athena Hercules is portrayed as a bitter figure. Hercules articulates his plight as such “you understand nothing. My first family: dead. My life wasted on ridiculous quests. My second wife dead, after being tricked into poisoning me and leaving me to a painful demise. And my compensation? I got to become a minor god. Immortal, so I can never forget my pain. Stuck here as a gatekeeper, a doorman, a... a butler for the Olympians. No you don 't understand." (Riordan). While the common perception of Hercules is that of the golden boy, and the original myth is something of a cautionary tale, the truth may be somewhere in the middle. Hercules had a great many sins and flaws but he also carried out even more heroic acts. He can not be remembered for just his sins or his heroics, he must be remembered for both. The real Hercules should be remembered as the original and possibly greatest anti
Heracles VS Hercules The legend of Hercules has been told and retold thousands of times; it is by far one of the best known Greek myths of all time. In fact, it was so well known that Disney made it into a movie. Like any story that’s adapted into a movie, there are some differences and similarities between the myth and the movie. This paper will go over the main differences and similarities between the two versions of the same myth.
Similar in both Greek and Roman myth, Hercules performs twelve labors due to Hera driving him mad and causing him to kill his family (this is later discovered to be different). Hercules performs these labors as penance and tries to atone for his mistakes even though he was not to blame. Hercules’ goal is to eventually be able to go and live his life in peace and solitude. The more subtle similarities to the general audience, he
Hercules performed many labors to pay for his sins. He dealt with many challenges from killing creatures to taking different items. All of these labors he performed were not simple and each task could have been the end of Heracles. As the 12 years of labors went by, each of the tasks were accomplished. Through these labors, he payed for the sins he had done and was bestowed with the gift of immortality.
Hercules has an interesting origin. Hercules was conceived by Zeus of divine nature and a mortal woman named Alcmene. Zeus appeared to her one night disguised as her husband Amphitryon. Amphitryon then appeared to her “again” causing her to have two sons one of divinity and the other of morality, their names were Hercules and Iphicles. Hera, not too pleased by her husband’s deceitful ways made Zeus swear that the next descendant of Perseus to be borne will be the high king. Zeus agrees to this thinking that the next borne will be Hercules, but Hera has plenty of tricks up her sleeve. The goddess determined to rob Hercules of his birthright enlist the help of Lithia, goddess of childbirth. Lithia speeds up Eurystheus birth, and slows down Hercules’ and Iphicles’ birth. Hercules and Iphicles would probably never have been born if it wasn’t for Galanthis, a close friend and servant of Alcmene, who fooled Lithia by telling the goddess that Hercules had already been born. This conundrum bemused Lithia long enough for baby Hercules to be born. Unfortunately Eurystheus had already ...
Hercules was about to kill himself. But he was told by the oracle at Delphi
Odysseus brave, always able to think fast and able to fight the good fight when the need arises has been one of my favorite hero's since I first read about him. Throughout the Odyssey we are able to how great of a hero he truly is. If there was a defining moment that made Odysseus my favorite classical hero I would never be able to pick just one. This is due to how Odysseus was not just one kind of hero, he was the hero that knew how to think his way out of any problem, as well as a hero that would know the time he needed to use force to get the job done. As we progress in this essay my goal is to show you the classical hero that taught me not only is your strength a valuable ally but your mind and quick thinking as well.
Hercules was a hero known for his strength and courage and for his legendary adventures. But there is much more to him. He was the son of the god Zeus and a human mother Alcmene, which is a huge thing because he was supernatural to tall others around him. He was a demi-god. He was wife was called Amphitryon. Hera was jealous of the human mother and decided to try and kill Hercules by putting two poisonous snakes in his c...
Rosenberg, Donna."The Labors and Death of Heracles." World Mythology: An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics. (1999): 84-9
Hercules had a jealous god after him. The jealous god was Hera, wife of Zeus. She hated Hercules because he was Zeus’s son but he wasn’t her son. Zeus cheated on Hera, he did a lot and it
Hercules was adventurous manly because of what he was sentenced to do. Hercules was driven mad by the goddess Hera, and in frenzy he killed his own children. To atone for his crime he was sentenced to perform a series of tasks or labors for his cousin Eurytheus, the king of Mycenae.
Zeus, his name is synonymous with Greek mythology and religion. God of the weather and sky he used his powers of wind, lightning, and thunder to uphold the law and keep order. He ruled Mount Olympus as well as the pantheon of gods who lived there. Watching over mankind he would punish those who defied him and help those who were wronged. However, Zeus did have his flaws. His quick tempered nature combined with his lust for women made him relatable to the common man. From his coming to power until the beginning of Christianity, this complex god would have no equal.