Comparing Hercules the Myth and Hercules the Film (Movie Review Sample)

Comparing Hercules the Myth and Hercules the Film Name Institutional affiliation Comparing Hercules the Myth and Hercules the Film The ancient Greeks created their own body of myths, which gave an insight of the nature of their world focusing on their gods and heroes, and explanations about the origins of their cultural practices (Clauss, 1996). This is referred today as Greek mythology. This body of myths is embodied in the narratives that are recounted today as well as the representational art illustrating the ancient Greek culture. A majority of scholars study and explore the myths in a bid to elucidate on the diverse religious and political institutions of ancient Greece. Furthermore, they do so in order to comprehend how that civilization devised their myths (Clauss, 1996). Modern filmmakers have been relentless in attempting to replicate the accounts of most of the characters involved in some of the prominent myths. One such recreation of events is in describing the tale of Hercules. This paper will draw a comparison of the Hollywood movie and the original Greek myth that details the character’s life, highlighting similarities as well as differences between the two. According to the Greek mythology, Hercules was a demigod sired by Zeus. He is depicted as the ideal manifestation of masculine heroism. Zeus was the God of thunder and ruler of Olympus. The wife of Zeus, Hera, was furious at Zeus for having a son with a mortal son and so in a fit of vengeance, she drove Hercules insane which lead him to murder his own family one day. Following the incident, Hercules was distraught and accepted to do his penance by completing a series of humanly impossible missions. His reward after completion would be immortality. These mission are known as the twelve labours and include killing the lion of Nemea, seizing a deer-like animal with gold horns, killing a creature with nine heads called the Hydra, killing a boar, exiling the Styphalian birds, cleaning the thousands of Aegean stables in one day, retrieving the ferocious bull given to Minos by Poseidon in Crete, bringing back the girdle Hippolyta , retrieving the man-eating mares, returning back the cattle of Geryon, bringing back the Golden Apples of Hesperides, and retrieving Cerberus, the three-headed dog from Hades. However since Hercules is not entirely sincere in his quest as he accepts money as compensation for some of his feats, he is not bestowed with immortality. Nevertheless, he is unshackled from his misdemeanors. He proceeds on several other quests. As he nears his death, Zeus intervenes and makes him immortal. In contrast, the recreation of the ancient myth in the film is done in a different way. In the movie, the mighty Hercules is depicted as the leader of a band of mercenaries who are enticed by taking on profitable ventures such as fighting battles for various kings around Greece (Lewellen, 2014). In the movie instead of illustrating the twelve labors as they are narrated in the mythology, the director casts Hercules nephew Iolaus whose chief role is to recount the heroic deeds of Hercules on his quest to complete the twelve labors. These accounts are intended to spread Hercules’ reputation across Greece and instill fear among their foes. The narrative tells of how he battled and killed the lion of Nemea, however in the film, the protagonist is revealed wearing the hide of the lion as his nephew recounts the events. In the film, Hercules calls upon anyone willing to match his price to join him in battle, and this is how he forms the band of mercenaries. Among his pack are the oracle and an Amazonian archer. The myth, on the other hand, mentions that it is the oracle who sends Hercules on his quest. In the movie, Hercules is contracted by Lord Cotys, who desires an end to the reign of Rhesus. Rhesus is depicted as a ruler who has the powers of persuasion and bears an animal-like appearance. Hercules has to train armature Thracian peasants into warriors to defend their land. The film humanizes the hero, contrary to the myth’s depiction of a man who was constantly tormented b...