Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Hercules Or Heracles? What Do We Know?

Based upon your prior knowledge or cultural literacy, what do you know about Hercules, the famous Greek hero?  Please specify, explain, argue, and share your understanding of Hercules.  Complete this blog during class today.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know the whole Disney tale. I re-watched the movie twice over spring break because it is so good. I know that Hercules is Zeus's son and he has extreme strength. The hercules movie has a lot of Roman mythology with the Greek mythology which I find really funny. The music is really good. But I don't know much about the real Hercules story. I really like Hercules (the movie) because Pegasus is my Disney Spirit animal and I relate to him. I also sang a solo in a play from the movie, "I won't say I'm in Love." I love the movie so we'll see how the actual tale turns my perspective on Hercules.

Anonymous said...

All the knowledge I have based on Hercules is from the Disney movie that was made. I know that he was known as the strongest man that ever lived. He has a pegasus and his father was a Greek God. If I remember right he saves a woman from a monster. He fought off a lot of monsters and I think at some point he is being deceived but I cant remember.

Anonymous said...

All I really know is from the Hercules movie. Though I do know a bit about the twelve tasks and how he had to do them after killing his family. Maddy cable

Anonymous said...

Hercules, was borne of Zeus and Hera was not pleased, so she threw him down to the earth, as a demigod. However, Zeus had pity on him, and told him that he could become a full fledged god, if he completed certain tasks. I think he had to fight the Hydra, and he won eventually, but it took him awhile to do so. This is what I know about Hercules. As for Heracles, I have no clue.

Anonymous said...

I don't know very much, but what I think I know is this, that Hercules was part mortal and part immortal. He was strong and a hero. His father was Zeus. He had to perform many challenges. He was an Argonaut for a time. In Theseus we learn that he killed his family then almost took his own life. That is the extent of my Hercules knowledge. I don't know why he is more famous than other Greek heroes.

Anonymous said...

Thus far in my life, I know that Hercules (or Heracles) is not as much of a stand up guy like he was portrayed in the Disney movie, where many people develop their understanding of his character. I know that he murdered his entire family and committed multiple deeds that are almost unspeakable. After which, he had to redeem himself through 9(?) tasks. And that's the basis of my current understanding.

Anonymous said...

I know that Hercules is the son of Zeus. He was a god but he was taken and was turned mortal. Yet he still had his strength and through a series of trials he became a true hero and was given the opportunity to join the gods once again. Sadly he didn't accept this offer but instead stayed with a mortal girl whom he loved. That was the Disney version. I think there is a lot more I don't know about Hercules but after reading the Greek mythology of Hercules I can learn more about him.

Anonymous said...

Hercules was the son of Zeus, he is famous for his strength and long adventurous, and that Hercules is a roman name.

Anonymous said...

All of the info and opinion I have on Hercules has derived from only one childhood animated movie. He comes off as good and fair. He seemed to be someone that wouldn't cause destruction or harm that is not just. I do understand that this may have been up-played because of the target audience of the movie, which is children. I think our current culture relates to him in the sense that he is God like yet still human.

Anonymous said...

What I know about Hercules is that he is the son of Zeus and a human mother. Hercules was also abnormally strong and was able to do many things that others could not. I know that Hercules had to do a number of trials some where very dark and others not so much. Hercules also was not the smartest of people he was more focused on muscle than brains.

Anonymous said...

I remember as a little kid watching the movie and all i really remember is that he is well known for his strength. He is the son of Zeus and Hera and lost his immortality so he has to become a hero in order to get it back.

Unknown said...

Hercules is perhaps the most famous Greek hero by far, and it's easy to see why. He was the son of Zeus, and well-known to be the strongest man on earth. He didn't have much going for him in the way of intelligence but he had an unbreakable confidence that he would always win. I think he is one of the most famous heroes because he's the kind of guy everyone wants to be--strong, confident and handsome(I think).

Anonymous said...

All I know about Hercules comes from Disney. Hercules is a Hero that tries to save the damsel in distress. He fights against Hades who is the god of the underworld and I think that he gets tricked by a girl, but wins in the end. I've heard something about the labors of Hercules and don't know what they are, but I know from reading other myths about heroes is that the story that I think I know about Hercules is probably not the actual story.

Anonymous said...

I don't know too much about Hercules, except what I remember seeing in an old disney movie when I was little. I know that he is a great hero, who's strong and is connected to the gods of Olympus. I know that he did a great thing for the Greek people, although I forget the specifics of it. By reading the text, I hope to learn more about Hercules, and the famous story about him. Many films have been made, and many people know the story of Hercules, which is why I'd like to learn more about him.

Anonymous said...

What I know about Heracles is from the cartoon movie, and what I know was that he was stripped of his immortality and a baby and as he grows up he must become a hero to gain his immortality back. So the main point in of it was that what i know about Heracles is that he is a well known hero.

Anonymous said...

Hercules is one of the most well-known Greek Heroes of today. Most people can identify the name as one of the strongest men ever. They might imagine the golden-haired, tan Hercules of Disney's imagination, or a buff caveman from a plethora of movie. But mostly, these films focus on the great strength and mighty deeds of Hercules, and do not really talk about the tortured person Heracles really was. His namesake, Hera, hated him and tried to kill him. She drove him mad, and he killed his whole family. Sure, Hercules did some heroic things. He helped defeat the giants. He completed the great labors. But by just remembering these great feats, we do a great disservice to the full story of Heracles.

Anonymous said...

I don't really know much about Hercules because I haven't even seen the original cartoon Disney movie version or really any other movies that portray him accurately. Hercules is a known as a strong god who seems to help people when they are in danger or in a sticky situation.

Anonymous said...

Hercules was one of Zeus's last mortal sons. He was famous for his strength and for his numerous far-raging adventures. I know Hercules did many great things for the Greek people and I do want to learn more about him because he seems very important.

Anonymous said...

What I know about Hercules is that he was the greatest Greek hero or at lest the most glorified.To my understanding the Disney version is very different from the original myth. Hercules was the son of Zeus and I think his mother was a mortal. Hercules killed his family and he had to complete 12 challenges to redime himself.

Anonymous said...

I know that Hercules was an underdog at one point in his life, which is one of the reasons he is considered a hero. Also, Hercules did all of his adventures mostly on his own. I really don't know much about Hercules and haven't seen one Hercules movie, but I do know that he is a hero for many reasons and is famous in society.

Anonymous said...

I know about Hercules from watching the Disney movie "Hercules". all I know is that he was the son of Zeus but sent down to earth to live as a mortal. He was found by two other mortals who took care of him most of his life- baby to adult. He fell in love with some girl named Meg, completes many tasks/challenges, fights many monsters/beasts. Saves Meg from dying, risks his life to get her soul back from the Underworld-- Later on gains immortality...etc. What I really like about the movie was Pegasus- he was very uplifting in the Disney Movie "Hercules." I know nothing about the text myth of him.

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Anonymous said...

I know a couple of different interpretations of Hercules anything from the Disney tale, to Dwayne "the rock" Johnson's Hercules, and several literary novels that involves this great Greek Hero. I now that in these different ways this hero's story has been told it has grabbed the attention from the younger generation and with that has inspired different perceptions of Hercules. What I know about Hercules stems from his great tasks he had to complete to redeem himself for the action he did to his wife and child. I think that out of all of the Greek hero's Hercules is one of the most emotional and impulsive hero which makes his struggles so relate-able.

Anonymous said...

Before learning anything further in class, I knew the following about Hercules: That his mother was mortal and his father was Zeus. That his mother was married to a general who was on leave when Zeus made his affections for his mother known. That his mother denied Zeus continuously. That Zeus changed his appearance to identify as his mother's husband the day before her husband came home to trick her into sleeping with him. That when his mother's husband arrived the day after Zeus had taken advantage of her the truth was revealed. That his mother and her husband raised him as their own and named him Heracles, which means "Glory of Hera" to appease Hera. That Hera overlooked this fact and cursed Heracles with many misfortunes throughout his life. That he wrestled and put down snakes who snuck into his crib when he was an infant. That he was married and had children with a woman named Megara and was very happy with them. That Hera was displeased with his happiness, therefore cursing him with temporary insanity during which he slaughtered his family only to be horrified with what he'd done when he sobered up. That he decided to pursue immortality to be with his father (for some reason which was not really specified in the texts I've read), which he could only accomplish via The 12 Labors. That he died on a cliff after completing the last labor, so Zeus made him immortal and took him up to Mount Olympus to join the 12 main gods as one of them (Hera's view/reaction to this was also unspecified) and the cliff that he died upon was named the "Pillar of Hercules" after him.