Greek Mythology: Hercules 12 Labors

The concept of an epic hero ordains in most capacities to be born into their position, subsequently having to prove themselves worthy of said position, eventually excelling their birth circumstances and achieving greatness. This is true of most epic heroes, being either demigods, royalty, or both. Hercules is a demigod (explaining his astounding feats of strength and will), Aeneas is a demigod and of a royal bloodline, Odysseus is essentially blessed by the gods and king of Ithica. Those characters’ qualities of birth can be definitively classified as happenstantial luck. Yet, is it luck if one’s powers are inexplicably unique and inherent, not being bestowed? The most enigmatic, yet prominent epic hero who defies the trope of born luck seems to be the Anglo-Saxon character of Beowulf.

Hercules have you met him? This movie was produced by Ron Clements and John Musker. The movie is about Hercules who is the son of Zeus who becomes a hero. After training with Phil he goes off with Pegasus his flying companion to become a hero. During Hercules journey he goes through 3 parts of a hero's journey.

When examining various cultural myths, one archetype keeps repeating—the image of the quest. This archetype functions with various different mythologies as a method of learning about the world, both its external features and what is inside the self. The quest comes from ancient origins and is found in Classical Western culture, but has been fine tuned through the generations. In its most modern interpretations, there are continuing elements of the age old myth, where extenuating circumstances or hubris, place the hero in turmoil and needing to find an answer. Having additional sexual charges, it is clear that through the quest, adulthood is not only reached but embraced. This answer represents a completeness of being,

Although epic hero’s either fictional or non-fictional have similar journeys while becoming a hero, each character has distinct characteristics that present divergent outcomes. Two of the most evident characteristics that come to mind when thinking of a hero is bravery and strength. Amongst Gilgamesh, Beowulf, Luke Skywalker, Sunjata, and Rostam they’re all brave strong men with their own traits that shape them into heroes. All five of these men’s lives begin in an ordinary world when they receive a call to an adventure. Each hero has the choice to either refuse or accept the journey that they have been called upon. In “The Hero With A Thousand Faces,” Campbell’s gives an example of how the call to adventure

Even if someone goes through rough times, they are always more motivated to do what is best,in the end. In “ The Odyssey “ by Homer. Odysseus, who is the king of Ithaca and has heroic powers, is homesick and wants to see his family after 20 years but he is faced with many obstacles. “ The Odyssey “follows the hero’s journey archetype because odysseus is charged with a quest, he travels to a supernatural world and normal people are not allowed in and he resurrected to the people of Ithaca.

Hercules the son of Zeus and Alcmene, was born on a very bad stormy night in the present day of Nashville Tennessee. After Hercules was about 15 years old his mom came down with a very bad sickness that could kill her instantly. Hercules tried everything he could to make sure his mom wouldn't die, he made sure ate and drank as much has she need to. Hercules stayed home from school to help out with his mom.

Heroes, as depicted in literature, often undertake the most difficult tasks. They place themselves in mortal danger in order to bring back knowledge and treasure for themselves and their societies. Their stories follow what premier mythologist, Joseph Campbell calls the “Hero's Journey”. The Hero’s Journey archetype is the typical sequence of events any hero will go through in order to become who he or she is. As verbally stated by Campbell, a hero’s journey will always start with the departure, develop into the initiation and end with the return. Homer's The Odyssey with Odysseus as its hero, is a classic example and closely follows the complete cycle of the hero’s journey. In The Odyssey, Odysseus goes through a tough departure from his known

Hercules found the boar on Mount Erymanthus and cornered it into a snow bank, immobilizing it. He tossed the boar over his shoulder and carried it back to Eurystheus, who cowered as usual in his storage jar.

"The 12 Labors of Hercules" demonstrates a Hero's Journey by assigning Hercules many excruciating tasks designed to kill him. Hera and King Eurystheus are in cahoots and continually try to brutally and indirectly end the hero's life. Hercules was sent to do his twelve labors for his cousin, King Eurystheus, after murdering his wife, Hera, and their children. Hera was being manipulative and messing with Hercules’ head, so he had a fit and a bit of insanity and ended up killing Hera and their offspring. Hercules did not seem to know or understand what was going on when he killed his family and felt dreadful when he realized what he had done, so he prayed to Apollo seeking assistance.

There are many myths and epics that involve a hero’s journey in them. Two readings are “The Labors and Death of Heracles” and “Beowulf”. Heracles story involves him accidentally killing his children, and to try to redeem himself he has to complete ten tasks by himself for those tasks to count. The gods offered him immortality upon completion of those labors. Beowulf was about a strong man from the Geats named Beowulf. He heard stories about the ferocious monster named Grendel that was terrorizing the Danes. So he set out with 20 of his men to take on the monster.

During the course of his life, Hercules (or Hercules) married four times. His sexual prowess with males and females were among the characteristics commonly attributed to him. When he was young he moved to Thebes, where he married King Creon's daughter, Megara. They had four children: Therimachus, Creontiades, Ophitus, and Deicoon. At this point Hera made him mad and as result, Hercules killed his children.

The myth of the Labors of Hercules started when King Eurystheus gave Hercules the task of slaying the Nemean Lion. The vase, Neck-Amorpha, was made in 515-510 BC. The painter, though unknown, is attributed to what is known as the Berlin painter. Any work of art of this time period has a sort of reason as to why it is made. This could be to bring on some sort of emotion, action, or worship. It also can be to bring life and picture to a myth, like Neck-Amorpha has done. Before diving into some of the reasoning's and importance of this vase, the Berlin Painter must be recognized for who they were.

“Appearances deceive so you never let yourself be guided by how others see each other.” What this myth theme is doing is just judging a book by its cover. Hercules had accidentally mistaken Chiron for one of the vengative centaurs and it lead Chiron to his end of life.

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, after the hero’s friend dies, he sets out on a journey to gain immortality, the hero faces multiple challenges to find that he cannot gain everlasting life. Gilgamesh is tempted to gain immortality and to live forever, however he finds out he cannot reach his goal. In The Odyssey the hero is returning from a great war, after he gets struck by lightning sent by Zeus

The twelve labours of Hercules is a myth because it is a story passed down all the way to today’s generation, making it be a traditional tale. Hercules is originally a Roman god; however, it is similar to the Greek’s version of Heracles. This myth is originally from the Latin language--which is typically used by the Romans. The twelve labours of Hercules was originally written by Peisanders and was then lost in 600 B.C. Hercules was born a demigod with supernatural powers that established the patterns of life as we know it. According to Synnøve Des Bouvrie and Bascom’s definition, the 12 labours of Hercules is a myth because it is traditional, remote, and true.