Heracles Essay

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The Hero`s Journey of Hercules

What is the hero's journey? The hero's journey is simply a series of events that a character endures in order to become a hero. This concept has reappeared throughout Greek mythology. The strongest and most famous hero, Hercules, begins this journey at a very youthful age. Hercules path in life, filled with numerous challenges, proves he has gone through the hero's journey. Before Hercules becomes a hero he must get the call to adventure. It began one night when two snakes crept into the nursery of him and his brother. Seeing the snakes, Hercules chokes the 2 to death using nothing but his bare hands. Teiresias, the prophet of Thebes, told Alcmena, the mother of Hercules, that "he shall be the hero of all mankind" (Edith Hamilton pg 162). After that terrible tragedy, Hercules wanted to kill himself to end his grief and sorrow, but it was the guide or mentor Theseus that prevented it. Theseus gave him words of wisdom telling him " Even so, suffer and be strong, you shall come to Athens with me, share my home and all things with me" (pg 163) which persuaded Hercules to go. With the guidance of Theseus, they both travel to Athens, but Hercules doesn't dwell long there. In the concept for the hero's journey, the hero eventually leaves the mentor such as Theseus did. Afterwards Hercules must cross the threshold to continue his heroic journey. Traveling by himself to the 1st threshold ,which is at Delphi, he goes and consults the Oracle. The Oracle tells him that "he needed to be purified and only a terrible penance could do that". This leads to the road of trials which were the twelve labors that Eurystheus gives him. He first had to kill the lion of Nemea, slay the Hydra in Lerna, bring back a live stag with horns of gold, capture a great boar, clear the Augean stables in a single day, drive away the Stymphalian birds, get a savaged bull from Crete, get the man-eating mares of king Diomedes, bring back the girdle of Hippolyta, fetch the cattle of Geryon, obtain the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, and lastly bring Cerberus up from Hades. Throughout his journey, Hercules obtains allies or helpers that made his tasks easier. During Hercules second labor Iolaus "brought him a burning brand with which he seared the neck"(pg 164). Athena also helped by scaring
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