Only people that have read greek mythology knows that such hero's name is Heracles and Hercules is just the same hero under interpretatio romana. But the majority of the people don't know anything about greek mythology, but the name “Hercules" is part of our culture. So they called like that instead of the real name.
When Alcmene gave birth to the baby anyway, she named him Herakles. (The Romans pronounced the name "Hercules," and so do we today.) The name Herakles means "glorious gift of Hera" in Greek, and that got Hera angrier still. Then she tried to kill the baby by sending snakes into his crib.
Hercules is a 1997 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. It is loosely based on the legendary hero Heracles (known in the film by his Roman name, Hercules), the son of Zeus, in Greek mythology.
"This film is not for Greece, it is not for Athens," says Yiannis Tzedakis, the director of antiquities at the Culture Ministry. "It is a distorted portrayal of the Herculean myth. And we Greeks, you know, have a thing about myths. We take them very seriously."
How did Hercules become a god in the Disney movie?
In the film, Hercules becomes a god when he risks his life to save Meg, the girl he falls in love with. Once he turns into a god, he wishes to stay mortal and live with Meg. In the mythology tale, Hercules must complete 12 labors in order to become a god. Once he becomes a god he stays one.
Hercules was not a god but was born a mortal, although, like many mythic heroes, he had a complicated family tree. According to legend, his father was Zeus, ruler of all the Greek gods on Mount Olympus and all the mortals on earth, and his mother was Alcmene, the granddaughter of the hero Perseus.
The story is very loosely based on the Greek myth of Heracles. The story is inaccurate in many aspects of his life, from his parents, to his name, and more. While the movie is great, many of the details in the actual myth are less than accurate.
Hercules' sacrifice for Meg proves himself a true hero, becoming a god in the process and finally allowing him to return to Mount Olympus. However, Hercules chooses to relinquish his immortality so that he can remain on Earth with Meg.
At the end of the movie, Hades is punched into the river Styx, and the two are left watching him go down into the river, hoping that he won't return. Pain and Panic also appear in the Hercules TV series as Hades's lackeys.
As much as Hollywood portrayals like to suggest, Hades is never the villain in any Greek myth. On the contrary, Hades assists heroes when they come to him for aid. For one of his Twelve Labours, Hercules comes to take Cerberus, Hades' three-headed watchdog, to the land of the living.
The next biggest age gap is between Hercules and Meg, with Hercules thought to be 18 and Meg 28 in the 1997 film. Although Meg continually rejects Hercules throughout the film, she relents at the end!
During the course of his life, Heracles married four times. Heracles waged a victorious war against the kingdom of Orchomenus in Boeotia and married his first wife Megara, daughter of Creon, king of Thebes.
The action of the play occurs after Heracles performed the 12 labours. Temporarily driven mad by the goddess Hera, Heracles kills his wife and children. When he recovers his reason, he fights suicidal despair and then is taken to spend an honourable retirement at Athens.
By all accounts, Hercules and Megara had a happy married life. They loved and cared for each other and they had several children, usually between three and eight in various sources. Unlike Megara, who is an ordinary human woman, Hercules is the son of Zeus with the mortal woman Alcmene.
After defeating the Minyans at Orchomenos, King Creon offered his eldest daughter, Megara, to Hercules as a bride in reward for his prowess in battle. Together, Hercules and Megara had anywhere between three and eight children.
What's the difference between Hercules and Heracles?
Hercules: What's the difference? Heracles and Hercules are two different names for the same figure in Greek mythology known for his heroic feats of strength. Hercules, the more common form, is based on the Latin version of the original Greek name, rendered in English as Heracles.
Hera is the stepmother and enemy of Heracles. The name Heracles means "Glory of Hera". In Homer's Iliad, when Alcmene was about to give birth to Heracles, Zeus announced to all the gods that on that day a child by Zeus himself, would be born and rule all those around him.
Disney used some computer work, but hadn't fully transitioned to digital 3D animation, so the movie consists largely of hand-drawn images made to resemble the classical Greek art style, inspired by illustrations from English animator Gerald Scarfe.
Deianeira, realizing that Iole was a dangerous rival, sent Heracles a garment smeared with the blood of Nessus. The blood proved to be a powerful poison, and Heracles died.
Among his lovers were said to be the young heroes Admetos, Iphitos, Euphemos, Elacatas, and Abderus, son of Hermes, whose love for Hercules cost him his life (see above). Also Nireus, Adonis, Jason, Corythus, Stychius, and Phrynx. Male love may be central to the 12 Labors of Hercules as well.
How does Achilles die? Achilles is killed by an arrow, shot by the Trojan prince Paris. In most versions of the story, the god Apollo is said to have guided the arrow into his vulnerable spot, his heel. In one version of the myth Achilles is scaling the walls of Troy and about to sack the city when he is shot.
