Hercules Greek Hero

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Christopher Reeves once said, "A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." This quote basically sums up Hercules' life. Granted that he was not necessarily an ordinary hero considering that he was the offspring of Zeus, God of the Sky. Regardless of the fact that he was the son of Zeus and considered to be the strongest man, Hercules still had to overcome many speed bumps in his life. Hercules overcame these obstacles by being courageous, acting upon his anger, and using his cleverness. A great quality that most mythological heroes have is that they perform multiple courageous acts in the time span of their life, and Hercules was no different. Hercules was on the …show more content…
Hercules' major flaw was the fact that he had archaic anger issues. Just the simplest things could set him off and he would act out on his anger and do things that he was not aware of. Every time he would have an outburst it was like he would become a whole different person; he would lash out at the nearest person and it would often result in someone losing his or her life. Once he had calmed down from his outburst he would see what he had done and immediately feel guilty, but then he would try to go do things that could possibly help replace his guilt. An example of one of his outbursts was when he was younger and being instructed on how to properly act as a boy. His music teacher was just trying to show Hercules the importance of music in Greek life and Hercules wasn't having any of it so he grabbed his lyre and ". . .flew into a rage with him and brained him" (135). This was one of the first time Hercules had acted out on his anger. The teacher wasn't doing anything bad; he was just trying to help Hercules, but it just angered him even more knowing the teacher was trying to teach him when he made it obvious that he did not care to learn. Another example is when Hercules was much older and had completed all twelve labors. There was a boy who was pouring water on Hercules' hands before a feast and for some reason this angered Hercules, so " [he] killed …show more content…
Hercules had killed his wife and children out of anger one day. Theseus came and took him to Athens. He went to Delphi to consult there oracle where she told him that he needed to be purified and proclaimed, “ . . . only a terrible penance could do that" (Hamilton 136). This shows Hercules being clever by explaining how he felt the need to find some type of redemption for himself. Everyone would repeatedly reassure him that it was not his fault considering he did not know what he was doing, but he would not listen to them. He was willing to face any type of consequence that came his way just so he can stop feeling guilty for something he didn't have control over. He was sent to Eurystheus, King of Mycena, to do whatever he told him to do. The King ended up assigning him 12 different labors that came to be known as the Labors of Hercules. Whatever Eurystheus told him to do, Hercules would do it without so much as a complaint. He knew that if he were to finish these labors then he could possibly get rid of all the pent up guilt he had for killing his wife and children. Another example of Hercules being clever was when he was trying to complete the eleventh labor. King Eurystheus told him that he had to go and bring back the Golden Apples of the Hesperides. On his journey he stumbled upon Atlas, the Titan who bore the world on his
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