From nobody to somebody: A Hero’s Journey of Hercules

 

We all have someone whom we looked up to, could be a fictional character like those superheroes with amazing powers or a person who is kind, talented, etc. Be it fictional or not, it all dwells on good characteristics that they possess; a good role model, and sometimes the epitome of perfection in our eyes. However, what makes us love them more are their backgrounds – to who they are, what and where do they come from, or how did they end up being awesome – and in this blog, get ready to know more of Hercules and his hero’s journey.

Disney’s Hercules (1997) - based on the hero Hercules, son of Zeus, in Greek mythology – is a perfect example of someone who can be admired by many people. We can look into his journey using Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, a study focusing on the similarities of the many differences between cultural myths and religious stories (Jeffrey, 2020). In other words, it is a universal blueprint for stories about a hero’s journey. It consists of 10 steps but can be simplified into 3 stages: the departure, the initiation, and the return.

How can you start a good journey if you won’t be leaving? Of course, it all begins with the departure and in the movie, it is where Hercules leaves home to find his true self after finding out that he is adoptive and with the necklace as his only clue to the past, he went looking for answers and discovers that Zeus is his father. Following the departure, is the initiation where the hero is faced with trials and challenges that is essential to make themselves – physically, mentally, emotionally – holistically strong. Although he is a demi-god, Hercules is not really born with a typical hero physique so you can say that he really indeed starts from scratch but that doesn’t stop him at all and even persevered further. Later on, he is also engaged in a series of battles testing out his abilities and taking out monsters of different types, sizes, and strengths. This is also the part where he met his love interest, Meg, which is also very important to take note of as her presence in his life greatly affects his decision at the end and contributes to his growth. Lastly, the return. After all the things a hero went through, it is expected that they return but this time, as a completely different person in a sense that they have gotten better perspectives in life shaped by all their experiences. With Hercules, he finally understood what it meant to be a hero, someone to be God-like but as mentioned earlier, Meg’s existence in his life taught him more, realizing what he wants. He refuses the offer of having a place in Mt. Olympus and decides to be mortal and stay with Meg.

Hercules’s journey teaches us a lot, that being a hero goes beyond power, fame, and influence. It is more about empathy, selflessness, and love. In my opinion, the whole concept of the hero’s journey is self-actualization and I think that it is so beautiful to be able to apply it in ourselves. These days, people seem to question their purpose in life, doubting themselves if they really are in a place where they should be, or if they are doing the right thing which then ends up to losing themselves in the process. And, stories like this make us realize that we are growing, that we are all heroes in our own ways. We all start from being nobodies but the experiences we have in life make us somebodies.

References:

Jeffrey, S. (2020, February 18). Hero’s journey steps: 10 stages to Joseph Campbell's Monomyth. Scott Jeffrey. https://scottjeffrey.com/heros-journey-steps/?fbclid=IwAR0eCi_CPfZQV9ucbrMh2k3raVnMIeKjaHkD1NLZarGnrKprCz-hPUR0MOg

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