Malcom X was a man who could be easily compared to the likes of Hercules of Ancient Greece as both had similar pasts, trials and family lives (though slightly out of order).
Both men were the son of someone great and someone who was seemingly unworthy. Malcom Little‘s father, Earl Little, was a well educated and famous preacher. Preachers, at the time of Malcom’s upbringing, were very respected and were bringing messages of revival and equal rights/the need to relocate. However, Malcom’s father was murdered at a young age and he was therefore only left with his legacy and bitterness. His mother, Louise Little, who never saw herself as worthy of anything less than an extremely black man, was happily married to his father until his death and the leaving of her boyfriend some time afterwards who had gotten her pregnant. Because of this, she had a nervous breakdown and was placed in a mental hospital for most of the rest of her life.
Hercules’ father, Zeus, was always known as the greatest of the gods and Zeus was very proud of him. However, he was usually unable to aid his son due to his marriage to Hera, the queen of the gods, and her jealousy. His mother, Alcmene, was said to be the wisest mortal woman to ever live and also the most loyal in partnership to her husband. After she was tricked by Zeus (who was disguised as her husband) to lay with him, she became pregnant with Hercules. She was cursed with difficult childbirth by Hera and never was able to escape the goddess’s hate, though Hercules’ conception was not her fault. In her death, she was buried with Hercules’ wife and children though there was initially a debate about where she should be laid to rest. Both men’s sets of parents were nearly non-existent and shrouded in misfortune.
Hercules and Malcom Little were both targeted as children. The Klu Klux Klan had tried to burn down Malcom’s house when he was still a small child, which he escaped with the help of his