Lord Raglan’s & Hercules Essay Example for Free

Lord Raglan’s Hercules Essay Lord Raglan’s gave Hercules an outstanding 17 points on his hero scale pattern. This scale classifies the parallel characteristics of most mythical heroes. Overall, the similarities of Hercules to other heroes is the fact that he is the son of a god, there was an intent of killing him during birth, he once wandered in a place away form his family, and won battles with abominable creatures (Raglan, 1998). William Burkert, in years of evaluating mythical heroes, found a pattern on the makings of a fictional icon. Particularly the idea of a hero being a master or mistress of animals has won over the side of hunters which is possibly of a Paleolithic origin. In the story of Hercules this is apparent in most of the Twelve Labors he battled. Hercules’ first task is to kill the Nemean Lion and to bring back its skin. He later found out that arrows are useless in fighting the mighty beast. With his pure strength, he grasped the lion with his own bare hands and choked him to death. His second labor is to slay the Lernaean Hydra, a monstrous snake with nine heads living in the murky waters of Lerna. Every time Hercules got the chance to cut off one head, another one will grow in its place. He them commissioned the help of Iolaus in holding a torch every time Hercules cut off one head. Then after, Hercules finally disposed of the monster for good. Other examples of Hercules as master of animals can be stressed in the third to eighth labor, as follows: †¢ Capture the Ceryneian Hind †¢ Capture the Erymanthian Boar †¢ Slay the Stymphalian Birds †¢ Capture the Cretan Bull †¢ Steal the Mares of Diomedes In Greeks official religion, this may be deemed as somehow similar to folklore. Burkert detected a recurrent pattern in some of the actions and behavior of Greek heroes. This particular pattern includes youth, defloration, threat by a close relative, finding a partner, giving birth and finally, retribution. Another pattern is a relevant scapegoat in most hero storylines. (Burkert, 1979) Hercules (also referred to as Herakles and Alcides) was a Roman-Greek hero popular because of his strength and bravery. He is the half-god, half-mortal son of the powerful Zeus (Jupiter) and the Alceme. This identity of Hercules is similar to Catholic patron God, Jesus, who is also both human and divine. When Hera, Zeus’ goddess wife, heard about the birth of Hercules she was madly jealous about him. She sent two serpents to kill the young Zeus in his crib. Exhibiting valor and incredible strength, even as a child, Hercules killed the serpents all by himself. This display of power can be compared to the Bible hero Samson. Unlike Samson, who gains his vigor with his long hair, Hercules has an inherent strength that is within him ever since his first breathe. During his youth, an important decision during his lifetime is choosing between the life of virtue and the life of pleasure. A hard question posed to him by the goddess Aphrodite and Athena. The young hero decided to lead a life of virtue. This is a unique path to lead. This is in contrast to revered Indian icon, Gautam Buddha, who lived the life royalty and pleasure in his father’s palace when he was a child. Hercules welcomes struggle and hardships of life, with a strong belief that glory and true happiness comes along with it. Hercules then married Megara and the fruit of their love gave them children. Hera, still enraged about the very existence of Hercules, used all her powers to drive Hercules mad. In his insanity, he unknowingly killed his children and wife. Once he regained his insanity, he asked Oracle and Delphi on how he can compensate for what he did. He was instructed to serve the Eurystheus, the King of Tiryns, for twelve years. He is then ordered to carry out Twelve Labors to attain a peaceful soul again. During his quest, he was endowed with the virtue of courage, strength, and wisdom. His journey was quite similar to the long and tedious adventure of Odysseus. Traveling different land and voyaging the waters. He completed his tasks and redeemed his integrity and good soul. With such an exemplar accomplishment, he was then crowned a seat in the place of gods in Olympus. In his ascend to Olympus, he left all his mortal characteristics on earth and was born again with all divinity. Hercules the reconciled with Hera and lived peacefully as a family with this divine father, Zeus (Loewen,1998). Works Cited Burkert, Walter. Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual. University of California Press, 1979 Loewen, Juvenile. Hercules. Capstone Press, 1998 Raglan, Fitzroy Richard. The Hero: A Study in Tradition, Myth and Drama. Somerset: Courier Dover Publications, 2003