Greek Myth And The Warrior: An Archetype Analysis Of Hercules

Hercules Greek Archetype analysis

What qualities do heroes possess? Today, many people think of heroes as people who have superhuman abilities such as flying, laser beams for eyes, and other out of the ordinary things. Hercules doesn’t usually come to mind when people think of the word “hero”. There are many differences in the way Hercules is portrayed in both the myth and the movie produced by Disney. Although the myth and animation may not be exactly the same, they both portray Hercules as a certain heroic archetype. In Hercules the myth, the archetype put forth is the Warrior. In the myth, Hercules’ quest is to gain his honor back from the gods by going to King Eurystheus and accomplishing the 12 labors that are placed upon him. The fear set forth by the warrior archetype is Hercules not regaining his honor.

Ultimately Hercules quest is to achieve bliss with his love interest, Meg. He would do anything to have a happy life with her. The fear in the animation is losing his loved ones. Hercules is fearful that Meg will die when the deal between Hades is infringed on. The dragon in the movie is ironically Meg herself. All the time that Hercules spent trying to woo Meg she went behind his back with his enemy, Hades. Although Meg had double-crossed Hercules, he was still virtuous and loved her. The task presented in the movie is rescuing Meg. In order to save her, Hercules had to sacrifice himself so she would be able to live. The virtue in the animation is commitment. After Hercules had gained his godly status back for saving the world, he decided to stay on Earth with Meg. He proved that he was truly committed to loving Meg and sacrificed what he thought he wanted for what he truly desired. In the end, Hercules became conscious that he belonged on Earth so he could be a hero to the people and spend the rest of his time with Meg. All these examples are traits of the lover