How Did Hercules Change Over Time

This world did not always belong to us humans, we are an evolution of bacterial cells that meshed together to become a different type of living species. The Earth has been around for millions of years, so we do not know what has happened since the beginning. Over time our ancestors have practiced religions and passed on myths, many of which are still believed to be true, or changed overtime. When the word myth is mentioned, instantly the majority thinks of gods/goddesses and or heroes. Hercules (originally Herakles) is an example of one of those myths. The myth of Herakles was then changed by the Disney movie, which tried to make it more kid friendly. Our definition of heroes and heroism has been perceived differently over time due to knowledge.
When we were younger, we saw them as men or women who would wear capes and have super powers, but as we became older we noticed that heroes in real life are just people. They are inspirational people, whom find the time of day to dedicate themselves to help without wanting money or prizes in return. Myths and present heroes share in common that the title of being a hero or been seen as heroic is earned, not given. Mythological, ancient, and present heroes all have different characteristics, though that does not mean they don’t share similarities. Not all heroic acts are meant to be beneficial for others, but for one's selfish reasons. So let us not be fooled and blinded by the unmeaningful actions from the selfish, but let us recognize the truly, whole-heartedly meaningful acts.
Herakles was born in Thebes, Egypt, son of Zeus and Alcmena. He was born mortal and became immortal. While Zeus and Hera were together, Zeus could never stay with one girl so he wanted to go after Alcmena. The only way to sleep with her was by making himself look like Amphitryon, Alcmenas’ husband. Amphitryon was on a military campaign when Zeus tried to get at his wife. Zeus disguised himself as Amphitryon and Alcmena fell for it. Which resulted of her sleeping with Zeus, which later caused the birth of Herakles. In the Disney animated movie Hercules, when Hercules was born, he was given a pegasus, but in the myth of Herakles he had no sidekick it was just himself. Hera is not his mom like Disney claimed her to be. Hera hated Hercules and Alcmena because she got with her husband. When Hercules was born, Hera sent snakes to kill Hercules to ruin Alcmenas life. Though it did not work out since he defeated the snakes. His tasks to earn the title of being a God included killing giants, monsters, and do the labor without getting paid. Originally one monster he had to kill started with 9 heads instead of 3. His weapon was a club not a sword. His first challenge was to defeat a lion, not the snake looking monsters (Hydra). Years later, Hercules fell in love with a commoner named Meg. Meg had not sold her soul to Hades, and had not ever met Hades. Meg as well never saved Herakles from a column falling. Hades is the lord of the underworld, he is not a hateful or evil god. He is part of the order of the world. As a clarification Hades is the ally of Zeus. Hera still trying to make Herakles life miserable drove him crazy which caused him to kill his wife and children. Hercules was given tasks by his father to show he was capable of becoming a god. And the Titans are not the four elements. This is an act of selfishness that may have been seen as heroic, he defeated monsters for his own benefit instead of others.
Disney movie edition of Hercules was made to please children and had a lot of the story changed.
It was shown as a happy beginning with a mom getting along with her son, being welcomed by the gods of Olympus, sunny day, an immediate friendship with a pegasus. Amphitryon and Alcmena are adoptive parents, theyŕe peasants. He grew up to become a handsome, strong young adult. His tasks were given to become a God. Along the way he wanted to prove himself capable. Hades was seen as the antagonist in this story, so he was the one who sent the two snakes when he was born. As well as, forming his demons into little children and acting like they needed help since they were stuck under a boulder. That’s when Hercules first task was done, he killed the Hydra after saving the two kids. The Hydra head started with three instead of nine. That moment was when he was first recognized by the people and seen as a Hero. Afterwards, he defeated Boar, Lion, Bird, Minotaur, Medusa. He became famous and wealthy. He had met Meg because Hades sent her to woo him. Meg was Hercules weakness, when a column was falling from the destruction of the Titans, meg saved Hercules. The Morae are three sisters, whom were honored by the gods, cut Megs string which represented her life. The titans were released by Hades, but supposedly they were siding with the Olympians. Hercules was shown as a god when he went to rescue meg and when he jumped in the ‘pool’ of the dead he got out alive with meg's soul. After all
the fighting and defeating the monsters, he told his father he wanted to stay with Meg and become mortal. Unlike the original Herakles, he stayed in heaven to be immortal. Herakles and Hercules were both different in many ways, yet they still possessed similarities.
They both had to do labor, and killed snakes. Both were born with God like strength being able to defeat the monsters. Their labor was so they could earn the title of being a God. As they became older they were strong, brave and able to prove themselves. Major differences were Hera hated Hercules. Hades did not intervene or try to kill Hercules. No money was involved. Some characteristics and story line were true, but definitely was
changed. An ancient hero that caught my attention was Theseus. He is a hero of Athens, who grew up with his mother in southern greece with the absence of his father when he was younger. At an acceptable age his mother told him about his father, Aegeus, King of Athens. By the time he was old enough to travel by himself to the city to find his father, he had to overcome obstacles. After defeating all those obstacles, he finally reaches Athens, Aegeus saw him as a threat and was about to poison him without knowing he was confronting his son. Theseus showed his father the sword that was given to him as a baby, Aegeus then realized his son was right in front of his face. Aegeus claimed to let Theseus inherit his throne right after he sends him on a journey to kill a minotaur. Cretes most powerful ruler, Minos, had an only son that went to Athens, and his only son had died there. Minos threatened Aegeus, that he would destroy all of Athens if he did not send some of his people every year into the labyrinth to kill the Minotaur. Theseus wanted to prove himself by going and killing the minotaur. On the journey, Theseus met a girl, Minos daughter, Ariadne, she falls in love with him, causing her to help Theseus come back out alive from the labyrinth. Ariadne and Daedalus (the architect) give him string to help himself find the way back. Theseus reaches the Minotaur, finding him sleeping and so he killed him with his bare hands. The youth who were sent, all returned alive from the labyrinth, except Ariadne who died. When theseus was supposed to return he told his father he was going to raise a white sail, though he forgot and which caused Aegeus to jump into the sea. Theseus became ruler of Athens after. Theseus showed how he never gave up, and wanted to keep the people around him safe, also so future generations would not have to go through such an awful experience. Captain America can relate to Theseus in some aspects. When wanting to enter into the war he was a scrawny person. Though that did not stop him from trying his best to be in the army. His intentions were just to serve and create justice. He was finally chosen as the first super soldier. Steves intention were never for his own benefit, but for the benefit of others. He had hope and gave hope that it would be better in the end. Hercules, Herakles, Theseus, and Captain America had different journeys, but they were not too indifferent. They all had tasks to accomplish, were all seen as a god or hero in some sort of way even if they weren’t. Their tasks were given to prove themselves worthy. All four saved lives of many, though some were not intentional. Hercules and Herakles were never really slaying monsters for the safety of others but for their own benefits. Either way they were all heroic, and in the end it saved hundreds of people from danger. Personally heroism is an act of kindness and whole hearted action made towards correcting something that is wrong without wanting to be repaid. Heroes in today’s society are the ones who stand up for what is wrong, lend a hand for people in need, open minded about situations. I personally do not think we need a hero, as in someone to come save us from everything because I believe that we are all able to have a heroic part to us. It is time for us to not repeat the past. We should know by now how terrible and inhumane the past has been, we certainly should not make the same mistakes, there is no excuse. To be considered a hero now, it does not require costumes, good looking,or physical strength. All a person needs is mentally aware of what is right and wrong. An example is if a stray dog is in the street, instead of leaving it there, it would be better to take it to a no-kill animal shelter. Even if the person doesn’t get recognition for the act he or she made, the person will still feel good inside for the good that they did. Or another example would be if a man or woman gets their drink spiked and you help them by warning them, the person who just got saved from a disastrous ending would see you as a hero. Heroic acts are not the ones that save the world, but they’re the ones that save people or animals from danger.
Overall, Herakles was an ancient hero who had to overcome labors in order to get the blessing of being considered a God. From being terrorized by Hera he ended up killing his family and stayed immortal up in Mount Olympus. Hercules, the Disney version, was more of a socially awkward teen who fought crime with his sidekick, the Pegasus. He met Meg and saved her from Hades. Then they lived together, both being mortal. Their 12 labors was to the road to proving themselves worthy of being named a God.