The Heroic Figure Hercules modern depiction in Disney s Hercules compared to his traditional telling in Bulfinch s mythology and 15 th century art such as Hercules and the Hydra by Antonio Pollaiuolo shows a tremendous gap in the expectations of what is now a hero and what was then a hero. The twelve labors of Hercules is perhaps the most well known of the traditional myths of Heracles. He was considered the epitome of manliness and heroism though it seems he spent most of his human life in the service of someone else as punishment for one of his many crimes. The more modern portrayals of Hercules tend to bend toward modern trends of morality and human consideration rather than the Greek/Roman ideas of heroism. This gap shows how the ideas of a hero have changed since the original telling of Hercules great deeds. Hercules was a man great in stature and strength that was supposedly the son of Zeus and Alcemena and had been suckled by Hera herself at one time before she found out the child was one of Zeus illegitimate children. Hercules was supposedly the last of Zeus children born to mortal mothers. He lived by the strength of his own arms and defended the weak which by his standards was just about everyone. The depiction of him in Hercules and the Hydra shows the common portrayal of him wearing the skin of the Nemean Lion and carrying a great club as his only weapon. The Club was always a symbol of great strength and power. It did not kill or injure in the same way a blade did, severing flesh and bone. The club was a weapon of strength because it did not tear a person/animal open; it broke them to pieces from the outside. They were thrashed until their insides gave out. This may sound easy, but in truth animals and humans do not
die so easily from bludgeoning as some may think. The carbon based life form is physically structured to take a lot of punishment, animals especially, and the club becomes even more difficult when the opponent is also armed and ready. Therefore the use of a club is a massive up taking of strength and skill when considering the difficulties that Hercules may have confronted. This also takes a new spin in the fact that the modern depiction of Disney s Hercules does not use a club. Hercules uses a sword. It is a weapon of quick death. This would be a weapon more suitable for a moral hero such as him who would want as little suffering as possible from the assailants before they died. By modern standards the old Hercules could be considered a brute because he uses a club, which kills by painfully breaking. In the painting there is a sort of romanticism that occurs as Hercules slays the hydra. It is a task that is utterly necessary to protect the weak and is done in such a way so as to inspire beauty and strength as virtues of masculinity. Here Hercules grapples with the creature that seems impossible to kill because with each head you cut off; two more grow in its place. The Nemean Lion skin which he wears on his back was a creature with a hide that nothing could pierce; neither sword nor arrow. Hercules wrestled with the Lion and strangled it do death and so wore its skin to protect himself from attacking arrows and swords. The painting of Hercules and the Hydra shows the most fundamental icons of the romantic hero. He is strong and powerful and practically fearless to do the right thing. This is not an ideal that has ever gone away. Now as then, the incredibly strong are idolized for their strength. The powerful are always looked to and will be forever more to protect and serve the less fortunate. The new retelling of the ancient myth through Disney is a very solid contrast to the classic telling through Bulfinch s mythology. The modern Disney portrayal is that of love and caring and compassion where there is obviously a Christian influence in its telling that we can see in the portrayal of the lord of the underworld being the villain whereas Hades, in the original Greek storytelling, never made any sort of trouble for Hercules or really anyone for that matter but Demeter and Persephone. The influence of
Christian values is very much present in Disney s Hercules as he is stolen from his loving parents and magically transformed into a mortal. He grows up rejected as a freak and seeks to restore his godhood. Historically this varies greatly from the original stories but that is not what I want to discuss. The thoughts that there was a need to change the original Hercules storyline; to change his personality from that of a womanizer and outlaw to one of an extraordinary boy trying to find his place in the world is a Christian sentiment and varies greatly from the original sardonic, polytheistic and sometimes sodomy of the ancient telling. The change seems to occur because of the moral code that that world has developed. The original story by Bulfinch tells of Hercules most famous heroic travels: The Twelve Labors. There are several ideas as to how Hercules was assigned to Erystheus service but generally all point to Hercules having murdered his family with a few varying details as to why. His moral compass did not seem to always point true north though seemingly by Roman standards perhaps it did. Hercules in truth was no idiot as some might say since he was so incredibly strong and boastful. He was still mortal and understood his limits so he had to very often outthink his enemies. His fight with the Nemean lion was a show of his great strength but not necessarily his brains. The consecutive jobs of killing the hydra and cleaning the Augean stables required a little more brains. There are several versions of the hydra and his fight with it but for the most part they all end with his burning the heads/necks. However the cleaning of the Augean stables presented more of a problem. The three-thousand cattle that were housed there had created a mess that would require more thought than simply throwing your weight into it. Hercules diverted the Alpheus and Peneus rivers into the stables cleaning them out thoroughly in a single day. This is the final piece of a true heroes personality. He must be smart. The hero traits that have lasted through the centuries remain the same. They must be Strong, protect the weak and smart enough to outthink any situation. A hero never wins by chance.
The idea of a moral compass has always been sort of a shady area in the portrayal of any hero including Hercules. The different opinions that people have on what a hero s morals should be depends entirely upon the culture in which they reside. The only things that seem to be not allowed are for the hero is to seek power over other people otherwise he is labeled a villain. Killing them seems to be ok but seeking for kingship and such is always a no, no. Hercules in the old telling seemed to be bound by no viable rules other than just (1) No killing the wholly innocent, (2) No seeking for power. Though throughout the twelve labors Hercules is does not kill the wholly innocent, he may kill a few that have betrayed him inadvertently (like in the case of Lichas, the man who delivered the robe to Hercules that killed him, Hercules threw him into the sea from wherever it was that they were,) showing the Greek/Roman attitude towards failure. In the modern depiction he has a moral code and killing is only acceptable if the creature resembles the evening meal such as is the case with the giant boar in the Disney version. Hercules in both cases was a man seeking for glory and fame so that he may be forever remembered (similar to Achilles). In the Disney depiction his whole purpose was to return to mount Olympus whereas in the Bulfinch Version he was only permitted to rise to Olympus as a blessing after his death and it did not seem to be his lifelong goal. Fame and glory were Hercules major concerns but he also did have a sense of duty because he fulfilled each of the twelve labors set forth by Eurystheus with exactness according to the gods. He atoned for his mistakes each time and was eventually forgiven. This is a continuing theme for the new and the old depictions that have never been lost. It shows the importance that penitence and duty have to not just the ancient but the modern cultures as well. Sins were and are major concerns of people and even the greatest heroes that have ever existed still have their flaws. Hercules was sentenced to the Twelve Labors as atonement for his having murdered his family.
Once he was forgiven he was given a new wife and a new life where it was said he was happy. This continues to be a shared value in both the ancient and modern telling. The importance of a mate is at its best a continuing theme for all versions of Hercules myths. His submittal to the Twelve labors sentence was also in part because of his desire to be forgiven for having killed his family in a fit of passion. It is only fitting that after having worked for his own redemption that he be awarded a second chance. This is something that Service to fellow beings is generally the whole effort and work of heroes. They do not work as artisans, lawyers, or anything really other than soldiers. They are the swat team of the old world. Though Hercules spent most of his time off fighting wars and battles to aid Greece in its endeavors or obeying his sentencing to the service of Eurystheus his was the greates number of myths and myth references of any other character. His story has left a great impact upon the cultures in which it has been retold. The greatest heroes of our day are referred to by his name. The strength of Hercules is a continuing theme and his virtues have formed the base of what the ideological hero is today. The impact of the myth of Hercules cannot be measured or understood but the basic function of a hero is to inspire. This was the same inspiration that Hercules inspired in Philoctetes by giving him his bow and arrows just before he died, and the same inspiration that he brought forth in Troy when fighting beside Achilles. A hero now as then is given the task of serving and inspiring those around him. But we cannot expect to get someone perfect to do the job every time.