Myth can be described as a symbolic narrative that usually does not have a clear origin and mostly is partly traditional and relates to some actual event observed or experienced by members of a given society. This paper will discuss the hero’s myth of Hercules.
Hercules is a hero god in among the Romans. He is to the equated to the Greek divine hero known as Heracles. Hercules was well known for far-ranging adventures and strength. Romans believe that Hercules traveled so much the Greco-Roman World (O’Brien, 2013). One of the cycles his adventures became known as the twelve labors.
Hercules had various numbers of myths about it that were specifically Roman. One of the myths is that Hercules defeated Cacus who invaded the rural side of Roman and terrorized citizens.
The greater meaning of the Hercules is that he was a hero among the Romans. One who faced many challenges and overcome them. He was also the god that would protect the Romans against the underworld creatures. He once protected the rural Romans from being terrorized by Cacus. Another greatest meaning of Hercules is that he was the god of good luck among the Italians and would be worshiped occasionally by traders and merchants (Lévi-Strauss, 2013). Further, Hercules myth means the rescuer from danger was deduced from stories of his activities that were aimed at protecting the society and the weak against those who would attack them. He had a poisonous arrow with which he would shoot any enemy against his people. He also used the club as his characteristics weapon (Secci, 2013). He was enormously strong and feared. He would occasionally burst in range; he was a huge drinker and eater.
There are various symbols associated with the myth of the Hero of Hercules. First is the symbol of Nemea lion. This symbolizes the great strength that Hercules had. The Nemea lion was so strong with an impervious skin. The muscles were also seen as the symbol of masculinity and strength. Another symbol of the Hercules is the twelve labors. These symbolize difficult situations in society and the way to handle them. the twelve labors was also a symbol of life, this is shown by the way Hercules would learn about himself after completing each task in each labor.
The myth also had different characters that represented different meanings. One of the characters is the Nemea lion, which represented monsters in the land of the Romans. Another character is the Eurystheus the king who represented the authority in among the Romans. He was in charge and would assign tasks to Hercules. Also, there was Lernean Hydra, which was the venomous snake with nine heads. Hercules was assigned to kill it. Lernean Hydra represented the most stubborn difficulties and situations in the society. This is demonstrated by how it was difficult for Hercules to kill it. Enrymanthian Boar, a giant tusked boar was also another character shown in the myth of Hercules. It was to be captured alive and taken to the King. When Eurystheus saw it, the King was so afraid he hides from it. This represented the weaknesses of those in authority. They are not courageous enough as there are certain things that would make them panic.
The myth addressed different basic human issues in the story. One of this is the jealousy. In every society or where human exists in some numbers, there are also things one would be jealous of or envy from one another. However, jealousy has been a source of destruction to many people. Jealousy is a destructive emotion and never brings anything good as it turns reality to be nightmares to many. Jealousy, as a basic human issue comes out because of low self-esteem, lack of self-love and even lack of self-confidence. The myth narrates the jealousy of Hera against Hercules. Hera is also angry with Zeus who she claimed cheated on her. She constantly tries to harm Hercules because she was jealous of him because he grew up to an outstanding man. She turned Hercules insane making him kill his family of wife and children. The jealousy grew so much that it causes destruction to many people. This is common in society and is a basic human situation that is well addressed in the myth.
Additionally, the myth shows a lack of appreciation, which is a basic human issue in the society. There are people who would not appreciate the little effort made by others towards achieving certain goals. The king demonstrates this when he refused to appreciate the efforts made by Hercules to complete the ten assigned tasks. Instead, he added him two more and this is how Hercules ended up performing twelve labors(Stafford, 2013). The myth also addresses the struggles people go through in their lives. Struggles are a basic human issue in the society. It is demonstrated by the tasks performed by Hercules. One of which was to kill the venomous snake with nine heads. It was difficult to kill the snake as one of his heads was immortal. War and the issue of security was another basic human issue addressed in the myth. The society usually needs protection against enemies. This is shown by the act of Hercules who destroys Cacus that attacked the rural side of Rome. He was also known as a protector as he would give security to his people with an arrow and club.
The myth tells us about the society that believed in gods and respected what the gods offer. This is shown when Hercules goes to consult oracles that direct him to serve the king for twelve years. In addition, the gods of Hera curses Hercules making him insane to the extent of killing his family (Stafford, 2013). The values of obedience are also displayed here, despite Hercules being strong and powerful. He was obedient to the king and did all that the king wanted without hesitation. Moreover, the myth tells us about society with family values. The Hercules marries and had children. Even though he kills them later, it is only because he turned insane. But it showed family values. The belief in a supernatural being is one of the cultural aspects that were displayed in the myth of Hercules. There are those who worshiped Hercules because of his powers and strength(Stafford, 2013). They believed that he can be a source of good luck and strength. The corresponding values are the honor and respect that the society had on such creatures and would be treated with a lot of caution or else the bad lack befalls one in the society.
References
Lévi-Strauss, C. (2013). Myth and meaning. Routledge.
O’Brien, D. (2013). Hercules versus Hercules: Variation and Continuation in Two Generations of Heroic Masculinity. In Popular Italian Cinema (pp. 183-199). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Secci, D. A. (2013). HERCULES, CACUS, AND EVANDER'S MYTH-MAKING IN" AENEID" 8. Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 107, 195-227.
Stafford, E. (2013). Herakles. Routledge.
