Going the Distance with Hercules: Unpacking the Hero's Journey

From zero to hero, as the song in the Disney movie says, perfectly sums up Hercules' journey towards proving himself a hero. From being an outcast, a farm boy living in the outskirts of town, he took three chunks of steps that transformed him into this famous, masculine, face of the merch, son of Zeus: the young hero, Hercules.

What Disney showed us, however, is not just a story of a random would-be-hero; it is a journey of all heroes we look up to. The great thing is, mythologist, Joseph Campbell, presented a formula for us to understand our heroes (not the persons, but the archetypes) in depth.

Departure + Initiation + Return = The Hero's Journey

All these three were steps took by Hercules himself. It started with him leaving his town to know who he truly is, after 18 years of trying to fit in with ordinary people of his age; after making scenes after scenes showcasing his super strength. He bid goodbye to the parents who raised him, pursuing the answers to his "whys". Next, it is time to look for the master who will train him to be a hero, physically and mentally. He finds Phil who helped him after an intense convincing that he's different from other heroes. After memorizing the rules and hundreds of days of recreating his whole identity came the hero he knew he could be. Finally, Hercules is ready. He proved himself a hero with the townspeople, meeting Meg (who, spoiler alert, became his weakness), helping people on the way, fighting monsters, and facing Hades who took away his godliness right from his days in Olympus. After all these, the mortal with super strength earned back the entirety of his powers, conquers death, and of course, reborn to be the brand new version of himself.

That's quite the story, right? But let's dissect Hercules' journey into 12 more specific parts, written by Christopher Vogler as a summarization of Campbell's work. This way, we can understand the hero archetype part by part, proving that Hercules, indeed, went the distance to regain his powers.

1. Ordinary World. At the beginning of the story, Hercules is seen as an outcast, teased as "Jerkules", due to consecutive circumstances where his uncontrollable strength ruined his way with people. He is regarded as a freak; people feared and were wary of him.
2. Call to Adventure. After a disaster caused by his odd combination of clumsiness and strength, his parents decided to tell him his true story as a baby — that he was, in fact, adopted, and they found him wearing a medallion with the symbol of the Gods. And so, the adventure to know who he truly is begins
3. Refusal Of The Call. Talking with Zeus, he was ordered to prove himself, first by finding a mentor with his animal companion, Pegasus. But unlike other heroes, he is not like to be reluctant, instead, he had a hard time reaching his mentor and convincing him to start the training.
4. Meeting the Mentor. And finally, he found him. He stumbles upon Phil in his journey, chasing nymphs. Phil refuses to train him and even compared him with other heroes he has trained. But when he saw his massive strength, and after being struck by a lightning, he agrees to help.
5. Crossing the Threshold. After training, they are now off to the real-world experience that Hercules needs to see if he's ready to become a hero. They went to Thebes where people are plagued with problems.
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies. While in Thebes, Hercules and his team encounter a different set of problems. Meg calling him for help and facing the Hydra.
7. Approach To The Inmost Cave. This part came in when Phil and Hercules train, transforming Hercules from a scrawny outcast to a brawny hero. Now, he has the required skills and expertise to prepare for a bigger battle waiting in the special world of Thebes.
8. Ordeal. In fear of Hercules, ruining his plans to rule Olympus in the future, Hades goes out of his way to kill Hercules, resulting in him losing his strength. He regains it, though, in time to save Mount Olympus from the titans attacking.
9. Reward. Meg has been hurt and eventually dies, resulting in Hercules traveling into the underworld and risks his life in exchange for Meg. Meg comes back alive, and Hercules becomes a full God.
10. The Road Back. After all that he has faced in the underworld, Hercules returns to Olympus with Meg to celebrate their victory.
11. Resurrection. As they celebrate, Hercules realized that he does not want to live in Olympus without Meg so he surrenders the opportunity to live in the special world and chooses to be among the people of Earth.
12. Return With The Elixir. He lives on Earth, proves himself to be a hero, and discovers that being a hero is not measured by the size of his strength, but the strength of his heart.

And, these are all the hardships Hercules went through to become a hero. A heart-warming and inspiring journey somewhat familiar to us, as humans. From being a zero, Hercules became a hero, through going the distance no matter how bumpy and difficult it might be.

References:

Keefer, B. (2016). Go The Distance: The Hero’s Journey. Prologue: A First-Year Writing Journal. VIII (3).

Ruffe, D. (2015.) Zero to Hero: Hercules and His Hero's Journey. Retrieved from https://sites.psu.edu/wildspiritatheart/2015/04/03/zero-to-hero-hercules-and-his-heros-journey/

Scott, J. (2004). The Hero's Journey. The Ultimate Roadmap for Self-Development. Retrieved from https://scottjeffrey.com/heros-journey-steps/?fbclid=IwAR17m0LmuWz6bWaR6p-m6Ek5lrn_NAR3lpteHqk3P706kRkOPOjtgmVecec