Hercules Hercules was a Greek Mythology hero. He was a mortal but with superhuman strength. Hercules had many adventures and labors. Hercules was his Roman name, and Heracles was Greek name (Mythweb.com 1). Hercules was made a god after he deceased. His dad was Zeus, the most powerful out of all the gods. Hercules had an interesting family, a jealous god after him, and twelve labors. Hercules was the son of Zeus and Alcmene. Alcmene was a mortal but Zeus was a god. Zeus was also married to Hera, who got jealous quite easily when Zeus cheated on her. Hercules lived on Earth with his mother while Zeus stayed in Olympus like all the other gods. Hercules also had a twin brother names Iphicles. Iphicles lived in Hercules shadows. Iphicles also had many adventures like Hercules, but Hercules adventures are more well known. Iphicles father wasn’t Zeus. Iphicles father was Alcmene’s mortal husband, Amphitryon. Basically Hercules and Iphicles were twins with different fathers. Hercules later on married Megara. Together they had three children named Therimachus, Creontiades, and Reicoon. That is Hercules family tree. 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 drove Hera crazy. When Hercules was a baby Hera sent two snakes to kill Hercules. Her planned failed greatly after Hercules strangled the snakes to death. (McCaughrean, 6) After Hercules was married Hera drove Hercules insane. He went psychotic, Hercules ended up killing his wife and three children (Yale.edu, 2). After Hercules turned back to his normal self, he saw what he had done. He was filled with despair.This made Hera pleased. Th... ... middle of paper ... ...id from Cerberus and Hercules returned Cerberus to the gates of the underworld. Hercules was finally done with his labors and Hercules was set free. Hercules had a very adventurous life. He managed to complete twelve labors even though he was originally suppose to only have ten labors. Hercules was brave through each labor. No monster, animal, or god scared him along the way. He got through each labor bravely, with Hera constantly harassing him along the way or having the king being scared of the creature he wanted Hercules to capture and bring to him. After Hercules deceased he became a god and moved to Mount Olympus. Hercules was the only hero to ever become a god after he died. He was given a home and married a goddess. Hercules mother, Alcmene, was sent to the underworld (mythweb.com, 7). That is Hercules family, one very jealous Hera, and his twelve labors.
Everyone knows the story of Hercules, but not everyone knows that it follows the same pattern as most hero stories. Hercules is a story about the son of Zeus. When Hercules was a baby, Pain and Panic, Hades’ evil henchmen, gave him a potion to turn him mortal. It was prophesied that this baby would be the one to defeat Hades and they didn’t want that to come true. Since Hercules was now mortal, he could no longer live on Mount Olympus. A couple on earth took him in so he could grow up as a human. Hercules knew something was different about himself, so when he grew up, he set out to discover who he really was. Even though Hercules is an ancient Greek myth, it still follows Joseph Campbell’s modern basic outline of a hero’s journey.
First of all, the character Hercules was a non-hero who later received the power of strength. As a young boy Hercules wished to overcome any problem and always had in mind to be a strong man and to do the impossible. For example, in the movie , Hercules is a hard working kid who later by his parents gained a valuable power of strength being “introduced in ordinary surrounding in a mundane world, doing mundane things “ (Linda Seger 2) Hercules could not believe where all his strength was coming from because he had become too powerful to believe. Seger also explained that “this is how...
Hercules was about to kill himself. But he was told by the oracle at Delphi
As he is speaking to the statue it suddenly animates with a bolt of lightning and starts speaking to Hercules. Hercules recoils in fear and starts to run but after Zeus explains himself that he’s actually Herculeses’ father he calms down and starts to understand. He asks Zeus why he’s not on Olympus with all the other Gods and Zeus explains that he was turned mortal and mortals can’t reside on Mount Olympus. He also tells Hercules that in order to live on Mount Olympus he needs to either become a hero or God. Hercules then asks how he can become a hero and Zeus points him towards a friendly creature who also turns out to be a mentor, Philoctetes the Satyr. After Zeus gives Hercules this advice he also reunites Hercules with his pet flying horse, Pegasus, who is a major helper in his quest to become a
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.
Jesus was not the first in history to boast such a birth lineage many examples exist within ancient tales; however Hercules, the illegitimate son of Zeus (supreme god of the Greek pantheon) and Alcmene (a mortal woman) is perhaps one of the most well-known. While the birth of Jesus was with consent and acknowledgement of Mary, Alcmene was tricked into a relationship with Zeus; it is interesting to note, however, neither conception was of traditional coupling.
All the heroes you can count, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Theseus, Hercules, Achilles, etc. all have heroic qualities that you love. Are you thinking of any fascinating Greek mythology heroes? Being a hero is someone that is being recognized and admired by a group of people. Superheroes each have their different missions and quests to complete that amazes the audience. Greek cultures include a variety of qualities of a hero that is the basic qualities of being an admirable hero. The Greek stories Theseus and Hercules reflect the most important qualities a Greek Hero should have. Through these two thrilling stories, the qualities of intelligence and courage stand out to be the most important Greek qualities.
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.
After reading the Edith Hamilton myth Hercules and watching the film Hercules, there is no doubt they differ from each other. However, both accounts feature Hercules and how he is considered a hero. From watching the film, viewers can conclude that to be a hero in American culture, you must be selfless, able to help people, and have a good heart. These characteristics are affected by the values of American society while the movie was being filmed. On the other hand, Greek culture considers a hero to be strong, brave, and someone who will make up for their mistakes. All of these traits are affected by Greek values during the time of ancient Greece.
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.
Since Hercules was sentenced to many labors and accomplished the almost impossible tasks it’s safe to say that he is one of the bravest heroes. When Hercules was a child the goddess Hera was very jealous of Hercules Hera was jealous because Zeus cheated on her many times with mortal women to pass on his great genes to offspring and the more offspring Zeus had the better off Greece would be. Hercules was born because Zeus had an affair with another women name Alcmene or Hercules’s mother. So Hera sent two snakes into Hercules’s room when he was an infant to kill him but Hercules grabbed the snakes by the head and killed them. Also on his labors he defeated the Hydra, Nemean Lion, and the man killing Stymphalian Birds. In all of those labors Hercules showed a tremendous amount of bravery, because most mortals couldn’t even come close to these creatures or they would be killed. Fortunately for Hercules his adventurous personality, this helped him with the many adventures that he had to face.
Jason is known for retrieving the Golden Fleece while Hercules is remembered for his 12 labors. Jason traveled to mysterious locations and received aid from two gods: Athena and Hermes. In addition to the help from Phineus, Jason returned with the glory of the Golden Fleece. He returned to his home to become the rightful king of Lolcus. Similarly, Hercules was also a special hero. He was a demigod who had superhuman strength. After murdering his family, Hercules was sentenced to twelve very dangerous labors. After Hercules died, he was considered as one of the greatest heroes in Greek Mythology.
A hero is someone who can make quick, wise decisions for themselves and their teammates. A hero is a leader who makes the challenges easier and successful. Odysseus is a hero that represents bravery, loyalty, and intelligence. To some people, Odysseus is seen as a bad person. They are wrong; Odysseus is a hero. He shows great pride in what he does. He does not give up on anything that means the world to him; his family and his crew. When he uses his strength, mental quickness, and loyalty together, he is a true hero.
Despite his fame, strength, bravery, and the killing of the Hydra, it’s still not enough to win him a seat among the Gods in the Disney movie. In the myth Hercules rewards for all his heroic acts and is deemed worthy of becoming a god.
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.