Defeating the villain, saving the princess, and conquering fears; These are all plot archetypes of well known myths, legends, fables, and fairy tales. The myth of Hercules, a Greek demigod hero, is a shining example of this where these archetypes are demonstrated. Hercules followed the three main parts of the hero’s journey archetype in his classic story passed down from generation to generation in ancient Greek culture; The call to action, the trials, and the return home to a changed world.
Ever since Hercules was a child, his stepmother Hera despised him because his father Zeus, the king of the gods, had an affair with a mortal woman who gave birth to Hercules. Hera plays the classic role of the antagonist which is seen throughout many stories,
…show more content…
When Hercules matured and settled down with a family, Hera cursed him to go insane and in his insanity he murdered his beloved wife and children. Although he wasn't responsible for his actions, he wanted to seek forgiveness for them. So he ventured to a shrine and prayed to the all powerful god of medicine, Apollo. Apollo is very important in his archetypal role of the mentor because he provides guidance for Hercules and leads him further into the development of the story and allows him to find his call to action, the first stage of the hero’s journey. When he asked for help from Apollo, he was offered to work for Eurystheus, king of Mycenae, and repent his wrongdoings. This set off a series of events that are very common across the hero's journey archetype, the trials and tests of strength, the second stage of the hero’s journey. This is common across the hero’s tail archetype and is seen in stories such as Sleeping Beauty where Prince Philip had to slay a beastly dragon. The only difference between the beast Sleeping Beauty and Hercules is that Hercules was required to finish