I have been a Greek mythology nut pretty much since I learned to read. My mom used to have an illustrated book of myths in her classroom that I would read over and over. It was one of my childhood obsessions that endured into adulthood. As such, I was absolutely aghast when I first encountered Disney’s "Hercules." The actual mythological basis of the story got so twisted that it barely even resembled the original story. If the Greek gods were real, someone would have been smited for this movie.
So, bearing in mind that I’m not a Greek scholar, here is my list of the worst perversions of myth that went into the "Hercules" movie:
1. They got his name wrong.
Hercules is the Latinized form of his original Greek name, Heracles (although even that was not his birth name). This is really only a small thing, and not terribly important given that there are multiple spellings of the names of almost every mythological figure, and modern common usage tends to use the Latinized version. But for some reason it bugs me.
2. They totally butchered Heracles’ origin story.
For one thing, Hera was NOT his mother — in fact, she was his enemy. Zeus was Heracles’ father, but his mother was a mortal woman called Alcmene. Zeus appeared to her in the form of her husband, Amphitryon, right before Amphitryon returns from war. Hera hated Heracles because of Zeus’ unfaithfulness. The very name Heracles ( meaning basically “glory of Hera”) was an attempt to appease Hera. Also in Disney’s version Alcmene and Amphitryon are Heracles’ adopted parents, and are only poor peasants. In myth, Amphitryon was a high-ranking military officer.
3. Heracles murdered his children by Megara.
Megara is in the movie as the love interest. What the movie doesn’t tell you is that they were married and had several children, whom Heracles killed by throwing them into a fire. He did this because of a fit of madness induced by Hera. In fact, Hera inspires Heracles to murder his friends and family several times in his life. Also, "Meg" had nothing to do with Hades.
4. They left out the 12 labors of Heracles.
Heracles’ 12 labors are probably the most famous part of his story, with the slaying of the Nemean lion being the most well-known. Disney’s movie shows a few of the tasks, such as facing the Nemean lion and what I think is the Erymanthian boar, in a quick “hero” montage. They also show the defeat of the Hydra as the first of Heracles’ heroic acts, which he sort of stumbles into. What they don’t tell you is that he had to do these labors in order to purify himself of the murders of his children. Also, he had help defeating the Hydra.
5. Hades really isn’t evil.
Yes, he rules the land of the dead, but that doesn’t make Hades (or Pluto, as he’s also called) a bad guy. In fact, he has nothing to do with the story of Heracles, except for the time Heracles sort of borrowed his dog Cerberos. Hades certainly wouldn’t have released the Titans from Tartarus, given that one of them, his father Cronos, ate him when he was a baby. And frankly, Hades is among the more chill of the Greek gods, unlike the literally flaming hot-head in "Hercules." I think Disney was just wigged because of the connection to dead people.
6. Heracles was bisexual.
This was not exactly a revelation in ancient Greek society. Almost all of the famous mythological heroes had lots of sex, with almost anything that moves. Heracles’ sexual prowess was well-known, a part of his status as myth and legend, but there was at least one man he seems to have genuinely cared for, beyond having a purely sexual relationship with. Likewise, he was married (to a woman) twice.
7. Heracles was never a shy, gawky, misunderstood teenager.
I mean, he was a teenager. But he killed a man before he was 18. In his cradle, he killed a snake that had been sent (either by Hera or Amhitryon) to attack him. He had friends and enemies, but Heracles is sort of the archetypal Greek hero. He’s the best of the best. From the beginning he is seen as being aggressive, confident, and strong.
8. Philoctetes wasn’t a satyr.
Disney’s helpful satyr sidekick/hero trainer is their own invention. The only mention of “Phil” in the Heracles myths is that either he or his father lights Heracles’ funeral pyre, because no one else was willing to. He was a hero in his own right, but not a trainer-of-heroes. And he was definitely human.
9. There are nine muses. Not five.
10. Pegasus. Just… Pegasus.
First of all, Zeus didn’t create Pegasus. He was the child of Poseidon and Medusa, not created out of cloud. Also, he was nobody’s sidekick. And as far as I know, he had nothing to do with Heracles.
I don’t blame Disney for toning down some of this. It is a kid’s movie, after all. But it seems like they didn’t have to go completely off the rails of actual mythology to make a good movie. And if real Greek mythology is too disturbing, maybe Disney should have just stayed away from it.
