The Cretan Bull Comparison

“The Cretan Bull” by Agatha Christie is part of a twelve short story collection that is far from usual. The short story features Belgian detective Hercule Poitrot, who is hoping to retire after solving a few more cases of interest and personal appeal. In the Foreword to the volume, Poitrot declares that he will carefully choose the cases that conform to the mythological sequence of the Twelve Labours of Hercules. Therefore, Poitrot chooses the cases to conform to the mythological sequence of the Twelve Labours of Hercules, and that is because Christie’s purpose of writing this short story is to create a more modern and modified version of the original Labours of Hercules.

First, in both of the stories, the protagonists (Poitrot, Hercules)

in the original version not by Agatha Christie, the seventh case involves a Cretan bull terrorizing the streets of Greece. However, In Christie’s version, the seventh case involves a husband thought to be going insane and a fiance in distress. In the Greek Version, the Cretan Bull is the father of the minotaur, and you can relate that to the admiral in the modified version. The admiral is the one who goes crazy and terrorized rabbits, not Hugh. This is not a coincidence, and the connection between the Cretan Bull, and the Admiral that is easy to make. Christie’s version incorporates more human characters are in the story, and puts emphasis on a fiancé’s husband, versus a wild cretan bull. While, the older version has to do with Greek Mythology, and incorporates Greek gods, and goddesses. Nonetheless, both of the stories feature a protagonist who hope to accomplish a task to prove their worth at the end of the

In the original version, Greek Mythology is more emphasized and recognized. Hercules after completing the 12 labors will become immortal. Technically speaking, the goals of Greek mythology is to explain the origins of the world, and depict the lives and adventures of various Greek Gods, Heroes, and heroines. Greek mythology has influenced the world we live in today; the Olympics, Government systems, and laws and justice in Western politics are some of the many things Greek Mythology has brought to the world. So the original version has to do with Greek Mythology, and retell the adventures of the infamous Greek God, Hercules. However, in Christie’s version she hopes to bring to light the heady times in psychiatry. The 1940’s were a very challenging time, due to World War II and the Great Depression. Hugh Chandler is suffering from hallucinations, and is apparently thought to be going insane. However, at the end, the reader realizes it is not Hugh who has gone insane, but the General. Christie shows that mental illnesses can happen to anyone, and the symptoms of one can often go overlooked. So both versions relate to their time period, have a same plot line, and end with the protagonist accomplishing the task at