In Greek Mythology there was always a monster to be slain by the hero figure. This one specifically, was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. The monster was called the Hydra, known for terrorizing farmers and livestock around Lake Lerna; therefore, hearing of this, King Tiryns sent Hercules to kill the Hydra. Filled with courage, Hercules had no doubt he could slay the hydra and complete yet another trial. Upon seeing the Hydra, its heads were above the clouds and only came down for a worthy battle.
Hercules had tragedy from the day he was born. He lost his family but gained a love interest but soon lost her too. In the start of the movie Hercules was taken away from his parents in Mount Olympus and turned Mortal; well almost mortal. From before Hercules was born Hades and Zeus where rivals, ever since Zeus banished Hades to be the king of the underworld. Hades has been vengeful since and found opportunity when Zeus had a son.
Let's start with the Myth. In the Myth, Hercules his Greek Archetype is the Warrior. That means his quest is becoming a hero or a god, in order for him to achieve this he must complete 12 labors that will test him in any way possible. His fear is that he won’t be strong enough to complete the labors. The Dragon he faces is Hera.
The Gods gave him Hebe, who was the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hercules and his wife went to snowy Olympus to make their home as immortals. They lived in peace and did not grow old. The first thing Eurystheus asked Heracles to do was to kill the huge lion that lived in Nemea. The lion was as ferocious as he was huge.
Instead, he opted to use his great strength to overpower his opponents. But, in his final labor, killing the hydra, Hercules couldn’t win on might alone. “S3: But then Hercules watched in horror as two new heads string from each stump. S1: Now there are 17 vicious heads writhing and
He was a God and the two servants of Hades, "Pain and Panic," kidnapped him as an infant from his bassinet in order to kill him without being stopped. Little does Hades know they didn't really kill Hercules, they only turned him into a mortal human. In order not to get caught, they leave him,
Then thigs get real messed up in when Hercules has his Refusal of the call: Hera Heracles step mom hates him with the a passion and decides to drive Heracles to insanity. This causes Heracles to kills his own children. You could argue that he kind of refuses his role of "hero" by behaving in such a heinous way.
On his intense journey, Hercules was intercepted by Kyknos, son of Ares, The God of War. In order for him to proceed, Kyknos demanded that they fight. In the middle of the fight, a thunderbolt came crashing down causing the battle to end, forcing them both to part ways. Once he reached Illyria, Hercules met up with Nerseus, The Sea God. For him to obtain Nerseus’s knowledge, Hercules must first capture him and restrain him for a period of time.
Hades the dragon of Hercules. Hades has been trying to destroy Hercules since he was a baby. Hercules has one task which is to become a god and immortal . Hercules virtue is to continue his true love for Meg. Hercules was known as a noble teen in the movie, but a murderer in the Myth.
Hercules slays the Hydra to the delight of a cheering crowd. The beast has been pummeled to death by a landslide. This seen is familiar to many animated movie fans, but it is not true to the source material. The original myth has been altered to fit a western audience. Despite our western world being heavily influenced by the Greek and Roman society, we have changed the myths of their would to fit the morals of monogamy, heroism, and good vs evil.
For his first labor he killed the Lion of Nemca by choking it. His second labor was to kill the nine headed Hydra. One head was immortal and every time he would cut a head off two would grow back. Hercules defeats it by buring the heads under a rock. His third labor was to bring back alive stas with horns of gold.
In the book he actually does kill his wife and children because he was under the magic of Hera. The book includes other accomplishments of Hercules’ life when the movie only focuses on this one part in his journey. The book also reveals his attempt at suicide and ultimate death. As previously stated, because the movie must be interesting the writers construct it so that Hercules’ can finally overcome his final deed and be set free from his haunted past when in the original story he dies and gets married for the third time to Hera’s daughter Hebe while in
Hercules’ name was actually Heracles named after Zeus’ wife Hera. He had a mortal mother and an immortal father, which meant half-blood. Hercules was very clumsy and had great strength, which caused him to accidently destroy things even though he meant well in everything he did. Heracles lost control of his temper,
Eurystheus wanted to get rid of Heracles against the immortal creature with the expectation that he would be killed in battle. After traveling to the Hydra with his charioteer Iolaos, Heracles engaged the beast in combat. Heracles was able to use his club to sever the heads of the hydra; however, from each stump two new heads would sprout. Realizing that he could not defeat it through sheer force, Heracles “summoned assistance on his own account by calling Iolaos, who set fire to part of the neighboring forest, and using brands from it, burned out the roots of the hydra’s heads to prevent them from regrowing.”. After cutting off all the hydra’s mortal heads one by one, Heracles removed the immortal head of the hydra, buried it under a heavy rock.
The story behind Zeus was where his father started getting paranoid about his children killing him, that he started eating his own children. However, when Zeus, the sixth child was born, his wife did not let him eat him. As Zeus got older, he put a potion in his father’s wine which made him throw up the children. Then Zeus led his siblings in the battle against Kronos and Titans. They won the battle, and Zeus became King of the gods.
