Hercules A Greek Hero Essay Example

“A true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but by the size of his heart.” This quote is stated by the Disney movie titled “Hercules.” This explains Hercules' life story; he is big and strong but when things go downhill, he tries his best to fix it. He goes through twelve almost impossible, very tough labors and fights to make things better afterwards. After completing the twelve labors, Hercules becomes immoral and lives on Mount Olympus as an amazing Greek hero for eternity. It is very important to know that Hercules is the greatest hero in Greek mythology for three main reasons: he is of royal birth, he endures physical suffering, and he fights for his own honor.  

Starting off, Hercules should be considered a Greek hero because he is part of royal birth. Although, as a newborn, he already had people that wanted him dead. Meaning, his royal from his family did not do much good coming into the world. Though, Theoi.com comments, that Hercules was very strong and fearless as a newborn. This followed Hercules throughout his whole life. Hercules was born as a fearless baby and proved it throughout his lifetime. Furthermore, Hera sent two snakes to kill Hercules when he was a newborn, Mythweb.com points this information out.   Not knowing any better, Hercules grabbed the snakes with his bare hands. He ended up with a snake in both hands. Hercules got to the snakes and strangled them before they could even hurt him. Lastly, Theoi.com highlights that Hercules had a brother, his name was Iphicles and they had a very good sibling relationship. They were very close, got along, and Iphicles looked up to Hercules. They had this relationship throughout their lives and would cherish it forever. Overall, Hercules was a part of royal birth and it affected him good and badly in his life. 

The second reason why Hercules deserves to be a hero, is because he was also a part of physical suffering. Hercules might have done the twelve tasks but he did cheat on them. In addition to this, Britannia.com states that Hercules had to go through twelve labors. When he lost his honor, he had to gain it back. Pythia, who lived at court Pytho, was the one to tell him that he had to complete these tasks to get his honor back. These tasks included, killing the Nemean Lion, killing the Lernean Hydra, capturing the Ceryneian Hind, capturing the Erymanthian Boar, cleaning the Augean stables in only one day, killing the Stymphalian birds, capture the Cretan bull, capture the horses of Diomedes, taking the girdle of the Amazon queen Hippolyte, capture the cattle of of Geryon, taking the golden apples of Hesperides, and capturing Cerberus. Next, Pantheon.org points out that Hercules had to deal with Hera his whole life. Hera did not like Hercules and would hate him forever. The reasoning for this being that Zeus cheated on Hera again, she became jealous and filled with rage. Hercules was the child of Zeus and Alcmene, Hera did not like this. Finally, Hercules fought many monsters and beasts, Britannica.com states this information. Hercules had enemies and would battle against them throughout his life. Hercules went through many tough sufferings in his life and they all had impacts on his way of living his life. 

Finally, Hercules should be considered a Greek hero because fought for his own honor. Though, Hercules did kill his family. He killed his wife and children when the twelve labors drove him insane. First, Britannica.com states that Hercules fought the river god, Achelous, for the hand of Deianeira, Hercules' wife. Hercules wanted to marry Deianeira. He fought for her and proved that he would fight for what he wanted. Also, Hercules fought death many different times, Pantheon.org comments on this. Some of the times being when he strangled the snakes as a baby, doing the twelve labors, fighting for the hand of his wife, Deianeria, and etcetera. Moreover, Britannica.com presents that Hercules stood up for Deianeria. Nesseus, one of the famous centaurs, tried to violate Deianerira, a Greek princess and also Hercules wife, that is when Hercules shot Nesseus with one of his poisoned arrows. All in all, Hercules fought for his own honor and proved he was a great hero. 

In conclusion, Hercules should be considered a Greek hero and deserves to be a Greek hero. This is for three main reasons: Hercules is of royal birth, he went through physical suffering, and he fought for his own honor. As the Disney movie “Hercules” says; “A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the size of his heart.”