Heracles

The Disney animated film, Hercules (1997), follows the life of the Greek hero Hercules. In the film, Hercules is depicted as the immortal son of Hera and Zeus. He is also trained by the satyr Philoctetes in order to become a hero and prove himself worthy to live among the gods. Along the way, Hercules must fight evil in the form of Hades, who wants to overthrow his father. After some character development, Hercules learns how to utilize his strength to defeat evil. In the end, Hercules gives up his immortality to spend a mortal lifetime with his love interest Megara.

Esha Jain

The Greek hero, Heracles, who I will hereafter refer to by his Roman name, Hercules, is depicted quite differently in the Disney film Hercules (1997) than in traditional Greco-Roman mythology. Specifically, I will focus on the film’s variations concerning the long-established story of Hecules’ parentage and his relationship with Megara. Some important mythological details regarding Hercules’ narrative that the film alters are as follows: 1) Hera is not Hercules’ mother, 2) Megara is killed by Hercules, and 3) Megara does not work for Hades. I argue that the film upends these mythological specificities to highlight Hercules’ heroism, which would otherwise be undermined or less impressive. However, in doing so, the film fails to adequately represent Hercules’ character growth, which is a focal point of his mythology.

In Greco-Roman mythology, Hercules is the son of Zeus and Alcmena. While Alcmena’s husband is campaigning, Zeus impersonates him to bed the mortal woman (La Fond 01:13). After Hera finds out about Zeus’ exploits, she reacts with fury, as she usually does when confronted with her husband’s infidelity. Hera begins her vengeful streak against Hercules by conspiring out of jealousy to relegate him as inferior. She does so by altering his birth time to be after that of Eurystheus, who is Zeus’ grandson (La Fond 01:40). The traditional myth repeatedly frames Hera as the villain, especially when she is said to have sent “two serpents…to kill [Hercules]” (Morford et al. 555). However, Hercules foils Hera’s plans once he strangles the serpents and performs his Twelve Labors for Eurystheus. Without Hera’s vengeance, Hercules would not have nearly as much to overcome; she provides Hercules with the agency to perform heroic acts. Put differently, when Hera attempts to change Hercules’ fate as “a man who shall rule over all that dwell around him” (Morford et al. 555), she merely helps him fulfill it. However, Hera’s actions also work to frame Hercules as less heroic. After some of Hercules’ early examples of strength, Creon rewards him with his daughter Megara, who Hercules takes as his wife. Hera ends up driving Hercules mad; she causes him to kill Megara and the children he had with her. Even though Hera causes him to murder his family, Hercules’ mythology frames him as culpable for this egregious action, and this show of brute violence undermines Hercules’ heroism. Though, through his Labors, Hercules does eventually redeem himself. After he dies, Hercules becomes a god and is reconciled with Hera (La Fond 10:29). In my opinion, the redemption arc in Hercules’ story reflects a great feature of Hercules’ heroism that is most applicable to humanity. Hercules’ mythology illustrates that even if an individual sins initially, as imperfect humans do, they still have a chance to redeem themselves.

In contrast, in Disney’s film Hercules (1997), Hercules is depicted as the son of Zeus and Hera, who is portrayed as a loving mother (03:19) and only wants Hercules to thrive. Hercules also begins life as a god, and has to face a villain in the form of Hades, Zeus’ jealous younger brother (Hercules 05:17). Disney deliberately changes who the villain is–perhaps to allow Hercules to triumph over a man rather than reconcile himself with a woman. In this way, Disney prefers a more masculine heroism for its Hercules. Additionally, Disney does not include the part of the story wherein Hercules kills Megara. Instead, Disney opted to make Megara into a more complex character. The film highlights her previous heartbreak at the hands of an ex-lover. The film also reveals her to be working for Hades, portraying her as manipulative (Hercules 37:24). In the end, the film provides Megara and Hercules with their happily-ever-after (Hercules 01:25:30). Disney chooses to retell the story of Hercules in a way that transforms his narrative into one of straightforward heroism, which neglects the redemption arc that made Hercules’ mythological story more relatable to the lives of humans. The loss of this redemption arc causes Hercules to appear to have less depth as a character since his development becomes less pronounced from beginning to end. While Hercules does come off as more heroic by not murdering his love interest and children, his story is not as focused on redemption. The way I see it, the redemption arc in his Greco-Roman mythology is a vital part of Hercules’ story.

Rylee Holtorf

Disney’s Hercules is an animated film based on the Greek hero Heracles. Hercules is a very successful film that aims to capture the myth of the Greek god Heracles, while also being comical and entertaining for the viewers. The Greek god Heracles is the same as the use of the name Hercules. Since this movie’s target audience is mainly children and families, many vulgar, violent, and extra details are omitted. In my opinion, the movie was made “kid-proof,” but it also shows a basic understanding of Heracles.

Ultimately, Heracles is a legendary Greek hero who has an accompanying robust mythology. His family tree is complicated because he was born of a god and a mortal human. Heracles is the son of Zeus and Alcmena, who is the mortal granddaughter of Perseus. When Hercules was born in the film, all of the gods, except for Hades, rejoiced in celebration. In the film, Hades played a villian and had Heracles stolen from his crib. He compelled his minions to force the baby Heracles to drink a potion to make him mortal. However, Heracles did not finish the potion. As a result, Heracles retained his god-like strength. For the beginning of the movie, Hercules was a clumsy teenage boy and unaware of his divine origins. The movie shows Hercules being raised mainly by Alcmena and her husband, Amphitryon, who were essentially his adoptive parents. Eventually, Hercules wonders about his power and visits the Temple of Zeus only to learn that he used to be a god and could regain his immortality by becoming a true hero. Hercules’ mythic narrative conveys that he can do so by laboring for twelve years serving Eurystheus but the movie shows him being a true hero through romance and selflessness (Morford et al., 558).

Furthermore, I think that the movie did a good job portraying Heracles as a heroic, brave, and favored god. On page 554 of Classic Mythology, it says, “Heracles is the greatest of the Greek heroes” (Morford et al.). Disney does a phenomenal job making Hercules the hero of the film. The Disney film also adds romance and leaves out the killing of “Megara and her children” (Morford et al., 558). The film also leaves out the labor he had for twelve years and the killing of many throughout the process, however the film does show Hercules regaining his immortality. The movie shows Hercules going to the underworld to revive Meg, which allows him to rejoin the gods. However, because of the love for Meg, he chooses to remain mortal. With this piece being a Disney film, I think that it remains surprisingly true to the Greco-Roman mythology it was inspired by.

Works Cited

Hercules. Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, Walt Disney Pictures, 1997.

La Fond, Marie. “Man - Hero - God - Heracles.” Greek and Roman Mythology. University of Washington, January 2023, https://uw.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=8d65aec5-6c5f-439e-909b-af71018261d1. Accessed 12 February 2023.

Morford, Mark, et al. Classical Mythology. 11th ed., Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2019.