Modern day stories are heavily influenced by ancient Greek myths. It can be seen in motifs, characters or events that are reference or reused in film, novels and art. Disney’s Hercules is a famous adaptation of the myth Heracles. In this paper, I will explore the different story elements of the plot, characteristics and motifs of Hercules and Heracles, and references to other Greek myths within the film. The movie was obviously aimed to children, but it is also aimed at today’s people.
In the film, Hercules’ mother is Hera and his father is Zeus. Having both of his parents as gods, Hercules is a god. However, Heracles has a complex birth. Heracles’ mother is the mortal Alcmene and he has two fathers: Amphitryon and Zeus. As such, Heracles …show more content…
However, there are inconsistencies. The combat with the Hydra was not Heracles’ first labour, but Hercules still fought with the Hydra. Not only that but Hercules fought the Hydra with Pegasus, who existed in a different myth entirely. A majority of the labours are seen in the “Zero to Hero” musical sequence such as the Erymanthian Boar, the Stymphalian birds and the Cretan Bull. Hercules did all of these himself, but Heracles required helped from the god in many of his labours. Philoctetes, or Phil in Hercules, wasn’t a seemingly jewish satyr. Philoctetes was a hero that was referenced in the Iliad and had his own play written for him by Sophocles. The centaur Hercules fights in the movie has the same name as the centaur that orchestrated Heracles demise, Nessus. Megara was Hercules’ lover in the film and Heracles first wife. But in the myth poor Megara was murdered by Heracles when he was under the spell of Hera. Another interesting difference is the antagonist being Hades instead of Hera in the film. Nowadays the underworld and the dead have a negative connotations to them, while motherhood would be difficult to depict as evil. Using Hades allowed the animators to depict a definable foil to Hercules but myth cared little for visual character conflict. The name Heracles means “glory of Hera” but Heracles primary antagonist was Hera. The irony in language was presumably humorous to the
In the film, Hercules’ mother is Hera and his father is Zeus. Having both of his parents as gods, Hercules is a god. However, Heracles has a complex birth. Heracles’ mother is the mortal Alcmene and he has two fathers: Amphitryon and Zeus. As such, Heracles …show more content…
However, there are inconsistencies. The combat with the Hydra was not Heracles’ first labour, but Hercules still fought with the Hydra. Not only that but Hercules fought the Hydra with Pegasus, who existed in a different myth entirely. A majority of the labours are seen in the “Zero to Hero” musical sequence such as the Erymanthian Boar, the Stymphalian birds and the Cretan Bull. Hercules did all of these himself, but Heracles required helped from the god in many of his labours. Philoctetes, or Phil in Hercules, wasn’t a seemingly jewish satyr. Philoctetes was a hero that was referenced in the Iliad and had his own play written for him by Sophocles. The centaur Hercules fights in the movie has the same name as the centaur that orchestrated Heracles demise, Nessus. Megara was Hercules’ lover in the film and Heracles first wife. But in the myth poor Megara was murdered by Heracles when he was under the spell of Hera. Another interesting difference is the antagonist being Hades instead of Hera in the film. Nowadays the underworld and the dead have a negative connotations to them, while motherhood would be difficult to depict as evil. Using Hades allowed the animators to depict a definable foil to Hercules but myth cared little for visual character conflict. The name Heracles means “glory of Hera” but Heracles primary antagonist was Hera. The irony in language was presumably humorous to the