To ensure that Greek viewers were aware that Disney's “Hercules” was a loose interpretation of the sacred myth and not a historically accurate endeavor, the film was retitled “Beyond the Myth of Heracles,” returning the hero to his Greek name.
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.
What is the difference between Disney's Hercules and Heracles?
Heracles was Born a Demigod
Once he was a god, he became the gatekeeper of Olympus. However in the movie, Hercules is born a god, then turned into a demigod, then turned back into a god, and then into a mortal, contradicting the original myth.
Why is it Hercules and not Heracles in God of War?
Despite all the Olympians going by their Greek names, Hercules is identified by his Roman name rather than his Greek name, Heracles. The inconsistency of the regional naming was confirmed to be due to the fame and popularity attached to the Roman version of the name.
This was because Hera, the wife of Zeus, knew that Hercules was her husband's illegitimate son and sought to destroy him. In fact, he was born with the name Alcaeus and later took the name Herakles, meaning "Glory of Hera", signifying that he would become famous through his difficulties with the goddess.
The Full Story of Heracles | Greek Mythology Explained | Greek Mythology Stories | ASMR Stories
What killed Hercules?
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.
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.
Hercules possesses the greatest strength of all the Olympians and is stronger than even his father, Zeus. His strength exceeds that of most other powerful Marvel Comics icons, which he proved when he took away Mjölnir from a Thor clone in Civil War, one of the best Marvel Comics events.
While the Disney adaptation shows the gods Zeus and Hera as the parents of Hercules, Zeus was actually the only divine parent in the actual myth. His real mother was Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon. Zeus had disguised himself as Amphitryon and tricked Alcmene into bearing his son, who would become the hero, Heracles.
Featuring the voices of Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, James Woods, and Susan Egan, the film follows the titular Hercules, a demigod with super-strength raised among mortals, who must learn to become a true hero in order to earn back his godhood and place in Mount Olympus, while his evil uncle Hades plots his downfall.
Climactic Moment: Hercules proves himself a true hero by sacrificing his own life to save Meg. Just as he is about to die, his immortality is restored. He returns Meg's soul to her body, and together they go to Olympus, where he reunites with his parents.
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.
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.
Herakles behavior was not always appropriate for a hero/role model. He was often portrayed as a dull-witted, ill-tempered brute who performed evil deeds. He killed people without justification or for some personal gain. Herakles does not exert emotional restraint.
Hera, queen of the gods. Hera, queen of the gods, was Zeus' wife, and the patron of marriage. She greatly affected the course of Hercules' life, for reasons mentioned in the biography section. She hated the hero so much that she caused him problems at every opportunity.
Under Hera's dark influence, he gruesomely murdered his beloved wife and children. It doesn't get any more real than that. Even worse, Hercules had no idea that he had murdered his wife and children because of Hera's trickery. When he came to, he was totally destroyed by his actions.
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.
While Hercules may have the strength to literally destroy Thor's body, Thor can technically do the exact same thing to Hercules. The Olympian and the Asgardian are evenly matched in terms of both strength and durability.
Writers often take artistic licenses when dealing with Hercules' strength, as Stan Lee himself pointed out at one time. However, it is undeniable that Hercules has bested both Thor and Hulk, proving he is indeed the strongest Avenger.
Hera is jealous because Hercules is the product of her husband Zeus having an affair. Hera sends Hercules into an insane rage during which he kills Megara and their children.
The fire burned away Heracles' mortal flesh and he became immortal. He was taken up to Olympus to live with the other gods and he married his half-sister, Hebe. And Hera finally put aside her anger against him.
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.
