Hercules in Popular Culture

Hercules For my research paper I chose to explore and analyze instances of the great Greek/ popish hero, Heracles (Hercules), appearing in popular culture and the effect his myths had on early civilizations. Considered by most to be the greatest of the Greek folk heroes, Hercules was the embodiment of masculinity and physical power. The word herculean literally translates into having enormous strength, courage, or size (dictionary. com. ) Since their inception, the myths and legends of Hercules have been immensely popular and have had vast influences on masses and cultures passim the world.Over the next few pages I will attempt to compare and contrast several examples of Hercules representation in pop culture with the underlying myths that are existence depicted. I will also piece in the undeniable influence these myths have had on people end-to-end history. First, however, I would like to start by giving a little bit of background information on the hero neckn as Hercules. Her cules was born as the son of Zeus and a beautiful individual woman named Alcmene, in the Greek city of Thebes. Due to his fathers divinity, Hercules was given the gift of extraordinary physical strength and courage.From the beginning, the events of his livelihood were shaped by the wrath of the goddess Hera, who scorned the boy that was a reminder of her husbands infidelity. As he matured he faced unlimited tasks and hardships, but through his victories he forever glorified himself in ancient literature. The stories of Hercules had quite a large impact on the early Greeks. Some, much(prenominal) as the ancient Spartans, believed they were descendants of the great hero and strived to be like him on the battlefield and in the gymnasium.Elsewhere, in Thebes, the Cult of Heracles was a religious group that was created which worshiped him as the divine protector of man. The cult constructed many shrines throughout the ancient world and even held festivals in his honor every year (the oi. com). Later on, the Roman imperium completely idolized the champion they referred to as Hercules and showcased his popularity by crafting countless statues, temples and gardens in his name. In Pompeii, there are many such gardens that were built for him including the House of the garden of Hercules (Jashemski).A mountain passage that led from Italy to Spain was even known to the Romans as The Road of Hercules (DeWitt). Beautiful architecture dedicated to Hercules can still be found throughout the world today, such as the Hercules Garden at the Blair Castle in Perthshire (Dingwall). As you can see, he is more than incisively a myth to these people he is an influential cultural icon who they looked up to. As great a hero as he was, Hercules was not without flaw. He was also know to have an intense desire for women and wine and was prone to extreme fits of rage (Phillips).One myth which paints Hercules in a bad light comes from his childhood. As a boy, he murders his musical tuto r Linus with his own lyre for reprimanding him. In adulthood, he kills his wife Megara and their children while he was temporarily driven mad by Hera (ancientgreece. com). Though not perfect, I believe that it is this complexity of character that has fascinated audiences and allowed the Herculean myths to withstand the test of time so well. An other(a) factor that I believe has played into the popularity of his myths is the contemporary obsession with larger than life heroes and the heroic ideal.Andrew Anderson, a Harvard professor of the Classics, explains that Hercules was the first representation of the perfect hero and may have been used as the molding for later greats such as Achilles and Alexander the Great, who were both thought to have idolized Hercules. Myths of Hercules have captivated audiences and established themselves in popular culture since the geezerhood of ancient Greece. Flash forward to the present, and the Hercules name is trendier than ever. His stories are r egularly depicted through the use of earmarks, TV shows, comics, flicks, plays, action figures and even video back ups.Though he hasnt always been drawed correctly in the lime light, these modern day representations are imperative to keeping his legend alive. In the last 50 eld alone, he has been the inspiration for various works of art. In 1963, Hercules was shortly represented in the pic Jason and the Argonauts. He joined Jason and the crew of the Argo in search of the well-fixed Fleece but left the mission early for personal reasons, which is consistent with the actual myth of Jason and the Argonauts.In 1970 the movie Hercules in New York cast the perfect take role in Arnold Schwarzenegger, who looked like a modern day version of our hero, but had little to do with actual mythology. The casting of Arnold Schwarzenegger as Hercules seemed especially sensible because both have had such an impact on the ideals of physical fitness and the art of body building. It is said tha t famous body builder Eugene Sandow (1890s), who is treated as a father of the early muscle building movement in America, was inspired to lift weights as a child after seeing a classic statue of Hercules (Wyke).Another facet of popular culture that showcases Hercules is the Marvel Comic Books. The Marvel version of Hercules was created in 1965 by Stan Lee as a topnotch besotted rival to Thor, who came from Norse mythology (comicvine. com). In the comic books he is commonly shown in his Lion skin cloak and holding his iconic wooden club. His typical super strength and courage are defining qualities in the comic book representation, as is his role as a womanizer. The Marvel comics also correctly portray his bouts with Atlas and the monster Typhon.One fairly recent portrayal of Hercules can be seen in the 1997 Disney movie, Hercules. The details of the movie dont follow the mythology of Hercules perfectly, but it hits luxuriant of the main points to make for a passable story. For in stance, from the beginning the film implies that Hera is the actual mother of Hercules, which we already know is untrue. In the movie, Hera is kind and compassionate towards Hercules, which contrasts sharply with the acold remorse she holds for him in most historic literature.Another discrepancy is the role of Megara in the movie, who was previously mentioned as Hercules first wife. In the movie, she is under the power of Hades and is laborious to help make Hercules become a mortal. If they do not succeed, it is prophesized that Hercules will rise up and stop Hades and the Titans from taking over Mt. Olympus. Though the movie wasnt always accurate, it did a great job of blending in other famous myths into the story. However, the film does correctly portray many aspects of the actual myths.The 12 Labors of Hercules, which may be the most popular literature based on our hero, is accurately portrayed in the movie in the correct order. Some other examples include the reasoning behind Hercules semi-divinity, his godlike strength and courage, and his journey to the Underworld and conflict with Hades. The movie also properly states that Hercules will be the only mortal ever to join the gods on Mount Olympus upon his death, though in classic literature he dies on his own funeral pyre after being poisoned kind of of drowning in the river Styx.The movie became a hit with children and is definitely responsible for increased interest in Greek and Roman myth with American youth. The success of the movie led to the creation of an animated cartoon series and even a videogame for the Playstation and PC. In the last decade, he has been represented in the popular video game franchise Kingdom Hearts, in which he is presented as he looks from the Disney movie. Even more recently he appears briefly in the book The Sea of Monsters, which is book number two in the ever popular Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series.Its interesting that these myths have had such a strong foll owing for such a long period of time. From ancient Greece to present day, the legends of Hercules have fascinated countless generations of people and have withstood the test of time extremely well. Hercules is more than just a set of stories and myths he is a world renowned pop-culture icon who will inspire more books, television and movies in the years to come. Sources Heracles and His Successors A demand of a Heroic Ideal and the Recurrence of a Heroic Type Andrew Runni AndersonHarvard Studies in Classical Philology Vol. 39, (1928), pp. 7-58 Published by Department of the Classics, Harvard University Stable universal resource locator http//www. jstor. org/ unchangeable/310599 http//open. edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/greek-heroes-popular-culture-through-time? track=e02cce8d6b Rome and the Road of Hercules Norman J. DeWitt Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association Vol. 72, (1941), pp. 59-69 Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press Stable unifor m resource locator http//www. jstor. org/ fixed/283041 The Hercules Garden at Blair Castle, PerthshireChristopher Dingwall Garden History Vol. 20, No. 2 (Autumn, 1992), pp. 153-172 Published by The Garden History Society Stable URL http//www. jstor. org/ durable/1587041 The Garden of Hercules at Pompeii (II. viii. 6) The Discovery of a Commercial Flower Garden Wilhelmina F. Jashemski American Journal of Archaeology Vol. 83, No. 4 (Oct. , 1979), pp. 403-411 Published by archeological Institute of America Stable URL http//www. jstor. org/stable/504139 Heracles F. Carter Philips The Classical World Vol. 71, No. 7 (Apr. May, 1978), pp. 431-440Published by Classical Association of the Atlantic StatesStable URL http//www. jstor. org/stable/4348926 Herculean Muscle The Classicizing Rhetoric of Bodybuilding Author(s) Maria Wyke Source Arion, Third Series, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Winter, 1997), pp. 51-79 Published by Trustees of Boston University Stable URL http//www. jstor. org/stable/20163635 htt p//dictionary. reference. com/browse/herculean http//www. theoi. com/greek-mythology/heracles. html http//www. theoi. com/Cult/HeraklesCult. html http//www. ancientgreece. com/s/GreekMyths/Heracles/ http//www. comicvine. com/hercules/29-2503/