Hercules Redemption

Hercules Redemption
Throughout history, many Greek mythological heroes have been forgotten, but one still remains just as popular today as he did when the story was first told. Many do not know this, but there is not just one story of Hercules’s life. Every story has different details while still staying true with the basis of the story. For the purpose of this essay, I will try to stay as true to the Greek version of Hercules as possible. With the many popular movies in recent times telling mystical stories of Hercules and his adventures, he is still very much alive and in the spotlight. Many people, despite watching the movies, still do not know the true story and character of Hercules. The movies far too often only show the heroic and

strong side of Hercules, but not his crimes, or his road to redemption. Hercules is a very unique character compared to other Greek heroes. Born a mere mortal with amazing capabilities, only to become immortal. After reading this paper you should have a good idea of what makes Hercules unique, the hardships he faced, his road to redemption, and, among all other things, gain a deeper understanding of his background and life.
Hercules has a very unique background. He was not just a mere mortal. Legend has it that Hercules’s mother was a mortal woman by the name of Alcmene. One night Zeus, Ruler of all gods residing on Mount Olympus, made love to her, in the form of her husband, behind his wife’s, Hera’s (a goddess), back. Alcmene gave birth to twins, Hercules as Zeus’s son, and Iphicles as her husband’s, Amphitryon, son. Before Hercules was born he already had Hera as an enemy, due to Zeus’s unfaithfulness. While Hercules was still a baby, Hermes, Zeus’s son and messenger of the gods, put Hercules on Hera’s breast to be nursed. Hercules woke Hera while nursing and she promptly pushed the baby off to the side spilling her milk across the sky (rumor has it this eventually became the Milky Way). Hercules immortality came from Hera’s milk. Hera seeking revenge sent two snakes to the twin’s room. Hercules saw the snakes and grabbed them out of his immense curiosity. Subsequently, Hercules strangled the two snakes due to his abnormal strength. After this event, Hercules mother, Alcmene, discovered that Hercules’s father was really Zeus. Alcmene, and Amphitryon raised Hercules alongside Iphicles as their own. As Hercules grew older he developed interests in the outdoors, which influenced his adventures throughout his life. As Hercules reached maturity, he began going on adventures. His first real adventure was when he went out to kill the lion of Mount Kithaeron, which had been killing and harassing the local’s animals. With little effort, Hercules was able to defeat and kill the lion. Some say this is the first time Hercules truly tested his strength. Later in life, Hercules helped the city of Thebes win a war against the city of Orchomenus. As a reward for helping Thebes win the war, Creon, king of Thebes, gave Hercules and Iphicles his daughters to be their wives. Hercules bride was Megara, and Iphichle’s wife was Megara’s younger sister. Hera watched Hercules’ strength grow and decided it was time to get her revenge. This time being successful in her revenge, Hera caused a fog and madness fall upon Hercules, which caused him to hallucinate and attack, and kill his wife, children, and two of Iphicles children. Hercules, thinking he was shooting arrows at beasts ,soon discovered, when his hallucination ended, what he had done. In despair, Hercules became saddened and sought to have no human interaction whatsoever. Hercules, seeking redemption, found Apollo, the god of truth and healing, and sought out redemption for his sins. Apollo, knowing what Hera had caused Hercules to do, gave him a road to redemption which consisted of twelve labor, heroic tasks, which must be completed in order for Apollo to take away Hercules guilt and pain.
Hercules’s labors were impossible for a average man, but as we’ve seen, Hercules was no average man.

His labors were a test of his strength and character. Hercules’s first labor was to kill the nemean lion. The lion was a very mighty creature that would terrorize the villages. Hercules outsmarted the lion by blocking the back entrance of a cave and luring the animal out through the front only to choke the lion to death. The second labor was to kill the Hydra of which had nine heads and was located in the city of Lerna. The Hydra was the watcher of the underworld, who stayed at the entrance making sure no mortal was to enter. The creature had many heads that would regrow once severed. Hercules with the help of his nephew, Loaus defeated the monster by cutting the heads while Loaus cauterized each head so that they wouldn’t regrow. The third labor was to catch the Gold Hind, which was the goddess, Diana’s, sacred animal. Hercules explained to the goddess the situation he has in, and she allowed him to go after the animal. The fourth labor was to catch the Erymanthean Boar. Hercules lured the boar and then proceeded to chase it into a snowfield where it wore itself out and collapsed. The fifth labor for Hercules was to clean the feces out of the kings many stables in only one day. He rerouted two rivers to the stable causing the feces to wash out. The sixth labor was to travel to Stymphalos to scare off a flock of carnivorous birds. Athena aided Hercules by giving him magical noisemakers made by Hephaistos. The birds were terrified of the noise and immediately left with urgency. The seventh labor was for Hercules to catch a bull, in Crete, that impregnated the island kings wife. The eighth labor was for Hercules to capture king Diomedes’ of Thracians, four man-eating horses. The ninth labor was to steal an armored belt. The amored belt belonged queen Hippolyte, of the Amazon. Hera caused an uprising of the Amazon people against Hercules, because she spread the rumor

that he was going to kidnap the queen. Hercules ended up killing the queen and taking the belt. The tenth labor was for Hercules to steal Geryon’s (a three-headed, six-legged monster) cattle. The eleventh labor was for Hercules to steal Zeus’s golden apples, given to him as a wedding gift from Hera. The Twelfth labor was for Hercules to kidnap Cerberus, a three-headed dog, of which guards the gates of Hades. After completing the labors successfully, Hercules found redemption. Hecules found a new wife, and had a lot of adventures. Upon death, Hercules became immortal and made- up with Hera. He eternally lives in the presence of the gods on Mount Olympia, and is even worshipped by some as a god himself.
Personally, the story of Hercules is one of my favorites in the selections of Greek mythology. Hercules exhibits the characteristics common man, with exception of his extraordinary strength. Hercules always had a heart to help others, and never purposefully used his gift for his own evil desires. What’s interesting about Hercules is that although he committed crimes, he still was considered a hero among the people, but how? Hercules was a man of the people; he was in no way perfect. When the time came he was always there to protect the people from vicious creature, or help noble king’s win wars. The worst crime Hercules committed was killing his wife, and two children. Just the fact that he can continue on and eventually live a happy life shows the true character of Hercules. He was an overcomer despite the circumstances. Although killing his wife and two children was not completely his fault Hercules still manned up and sought out redemption. An evil man would feel no remorse for his sins, but Hercules was a noble man. He felt an enormous amount of responsibility for his actions, despite being under Hera’s bestowed madness at the time. The labor’s raised Hercules out of despair, and showed the people that Hercules was a hero. I have not yet found any other character in the Greek mythology genre that even shadows Hercules hardships and characteristics. What is unusual about Hercules character is really his whole life from birth to death. He was the last mortal son of Zeus, and according to legend, the only man born to a mortal woman to become worshipped as a god upon death. Hercules had a hard life, but bounced back when he hit rock bottom. He showed the people by doing this that he had good intentions. Most people would have just stayed in despair after committing such crimes, but not Hercules. He sought out redemption, and completed remarkably hard labors. After which the people saw him as a heroic figure.