I’m sure you’re all familiar with Disney’s Hercules, the tale where a young man tries to become a true hero to reclaim his godhood. Don’t get mixed signals from the title! I for one am a fan of this movie and the mythology behind it. One of my biggest obsessions is Greek Mythology. I have Percy Jackson to thank for that, and the Greek gods such as Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Apollo, Hermes, Artemis, and my top three favorite gods: Hephaestus, Hestia and Hades. It also has cool creatures such as the Pegasus, Cerberus, Sphinx, Minotaur, Chimera, Furies, and Hydra. Yet, the most recognizable aspect of Greek Mythology is it’s heroes from Perseus who slayed Medusa, Odysseus who drove suitors out of his home to reclaim his throne, Jason who sailed across the sea to Colcith to retrieve the Golden Fleece, Bellerophon who rode Pegasus to slay the fire breathing Chimera, and Theseus who survived the labyrinth and slayed the Minotaur preventing others from experiencing the monster’s wrath.

There is also the most recognizable Greek Hero, Heracles. Yes Heracles not Hercules, in case you’re wondering why I’m calling him that. Heracles is his Greek name while Hercules is his Roman name. In the movie, the gods are using their Greek names such as Zeus, Hades, and Hermes.  He should be called Heracles, if they had their Roman names like Jupiter, Pluto, and Mercury. I would be ok with it, but the movie is obviously referring to his Greek story. Also, the reason why Heracles went out and did the things that gave him the glory he achieved isn’t because he was turned mortal and had to become a god to live on Olympus, but rather he accidentally killed his wife and children after Hera drove him in a mad rage and so he had to complete 12 laborers to make amends for his crimes. Disney adaptions of classic tales like the Huntchback of Notre Dame and Pinnochio are often sugar coated to fit the Disney brand of being family friendly so Disney basically drowned the original myth in a bathtub of sugar.