What is the Hero Cycle?
The Hero Cycle is the skeleton, so to speak, that lies beneath the meat of any given story. It has always been there, making up almost every myth or story ever written. Joseph Cambell realized this when he noticed that each story, even very different ones, all followed a similar pattern in terms of plot and events and addressed it in his book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." In it he writes that the cycle consists of twelve stages or steps (which are explained and exemplified in the photos below) that a "hero" or protagonist follows all throughout a story. It's like if you draft an outline for your essay, it is a broad format or idea of how the essay will be written: a thesis to begin with, a few paragraphs that each address a certain topic, and a conclusion; there's room for detail later. That's what the Hero Cycle is: an outline for a story. Each story follows the same basic pattern and differs later on, when detail is added. The Hero Cycle is an almost permanent fixture but it is also ever-changing considering the fact that each steps can be moved around and interpreted differently.
Hercules (1997)
Many people have seen Disney’s take on the classic story of the almighty hero Hercules, but not as many know the twisted and bloody myth from which it came. Disney is known for it’s heartwarming family films and in order to make the story of Hercules G-rated they had to do quite a bit of revising. Many changes were made, but I will only be addressing the three which caught my attention the most.
In the original story of Hercules, like so many other ancient myths, the gods were unloyal and Hercules was the result of a love affair between Zeus and a mortal woman named Alcemene. In the Disney movie, however, it is Hera, Zeus’ immortal wife, who gives life to Hercules. Alcemene wasn’t a very big part of Hercules’ hero cycle so it wouldn’t matter very much except that Hera was his biggest enemy in the original story of Hercules. Hera despised him, she considered him a reminder of Zeus’ infidelity and swore to make his life miserable. It was Hera who put him in the dilemma that, in turn, set him on his hero’s journey. But in the Disney movie they depicted her as a loving mother and brought in Hades as the main antagonist when he had nothing to do with the actual myth itself. The decision to change his birth mother affected Hercules’ entire hero cycle, from why he started out on it to who his greatest nemesis was. But I think that it was a worthy sacrifice in order to make Disney’s twist on this heroic tale child-friendly.
Something else I noticed was how they incorporated Meg, Hercules’ love interest, into the Disney version of Hercules. In the myth Megara was his wife and they had two lovely children. When Hera set Hercules into a fit of madness he killed his wife and kids, he then set out on a quest to cleanse his soul. In the beloved Disney tale, however, Meg arrives after Hercules’ hero journey has already began in the form of a double agent of sorts. In the 1997 film she had sold her soul to the “devil”, Hades, and he offered her freedom back if she could bait Hercules and find his weaknesses, but like in so many great stories she fell in love instead. I’m a sucker for a good love story so I enjoyed this twist of the myth and I feel it’s much better than the gory alternative.
The last change in the story that I wanted to address were the two different ways in which Meg died. As stated before Meg dies at the hands of Hercules after Hera sends him into a rage of insanity, but in the Disney movie Meg sacrifices herself so Hercules might live. In the end Hercules does the same in return. He is willing to trade his life for Meg’s which brings him to the end of his hero cycle. Hercules’ selflessness made him a real hero and for that he was granted immortality and brought the love of his life back from the dead. I liked that Disney incorporated Meg’s death but were still able to give the story a happy ending. I think it’s poetic that in one version Hercules and Megara’s love began the cycle and in the other it is what brought it to an end.
Even though Disney changed quite a bit of this hero’s story I believe they did it in such a way that made it appropriate while still maintaining the main message and endgame. It was a very entertaining and feel-good movie that stayed quite true to the original myth. If anything, I think they may have improved this epic story of a hero finding his place in the world. Whether myth or movie the story of Hercules will always be a classic tale to last throughout the ages.
Many people have seen Disney’s take on the classic story of the almighty hero Hercules, but not as many know the twisted and bloody myth from which it came. Disney is known for it’s heartwarming family films and in order to make the story of Hercules G-rated they had to do quite a bit of revising. Many changes were made, but I will only be addressing the three which caught my attention the most.
In the original story of Hercules, like so many other ancient myths, the gods were unloyal and Hercules was the result of a love affair between Zeus and a mortal woman named Alcemene. In the Disney movie, however, it is Hera, Zeus’ immortal wife, who gives life to Hercules. Alcemene wasn’t a very big part of Hercules’ hero cycle so it wouldn’t matter very much except that Hera was his biggest enemy in the original story of Hercules. Hera despised him, she considered him a reminder of Zeus’ infidelity and swore to make his life miserable. It was Hera who put him in the dilemma that, in turn, set him on his hero’s journey. But in the Disney movie they depicted her as a loving mother and brought in Hades as the main antagonist when he had nothing to do with the actual myth itself. The decision to change his birth mother affected Hercules’ entire hero cycle, from why he started out on it to who his greatest nemesis was. But I think that it was a worthy sacrifice in order to make Disney’s twist on this heroic tale child-friendly.
Something else I noticed was how they incorporated Meg, Hercules’ love interest, into the Disney version of Hercules. In the myth Megara was his wife and they had two lovely children. When Hera set Hercules into a fit of madness he killed his wife and kids, he then set out on a quest to cleanse his soul. In the beloved Disney tale, however, Meg arrives after Hercules’ hero journey has already began in the form of a double agent of sorts. In the 1997 film she had sold her soul to the “devil”, Hades, and he offered her freedom back if she could bait Hercules and find his weaknesses, but like in so many great stories she fell in love instead. I’m a sucker for a good love story so I enjoyed this twist of the myth and I feel it’s much better than the gory alternative.
The last change in the story that I wanted to address were the two different ways in which Meg died. As stated before Meg dies at the hands of Hercules after Hera sends him into a rage of insanity, but in the Disney movie Meg sacrifices herself so Hercules might live. In the end Hercules does the same in return. He is willing to trade his life for Meg’s which brings him to the end of his hero cycle. Hercules’ selflessness made him a real hero and for that he was granted immortality and brought the love of his life back from the dead. I liked that Disney incorporated Meg’s death but were still able to give the story a happy ending. I think it’s poetic that in one version Hercules and Megara’s love began the cycle and in the other it is what brought it to an end.
Even though Disney changed quite a bit of this hero’s story I believe they did it in such a way that made it appropriate while still maintaining the main message and endgame. It was a very entertaining and feel-good movie that stayed quite true to the original myth. If anything, I think they may have improved this epic story of a hero finding his place in the world. Whether myth or movie the story of Hercules will always be a classic tale to last throughout the ages.