1997 Hercules

Steven B. Zwickel

December, 1997

Before the opening of the Disney cartoon version of  "Hercules" in Athens, Greece, there were mass demonstrations against the showing of the film. The Greeks were upset because the animation did not do justice to the "true" legend of Hercules. (In this case "true" is part of an ancient tradition, deeply ingrained in the Greek national psyche. If they say it's "true", who are we to argue?) They were angry over this usurping of their national mythic hero by the Disney entertainment machine and they let the world know how they felt.

At the same time, a TV show based on the "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" has gained a large international following. The show is live-action, but it could easily be mistaken for a cartoon. "Herc" is portrayed as a witty, karate-chopping hunk.

It has been nearly 2500 years since Euripides recorded the legend of the first great hero of Western culture. The picture the poet painted--the "true" legend defended by modern-day Greeks--was of a man/god torn by contradictions. Hercules is described as supremely self-confident, yet often wracked by self-doubt. He was the strongest being that ever lived, but he won contests and conquered many of his foes by the use of clever strategies--brains over brawn. He was a man of passion--impulsive, emotional, and full of deep feelings. In spite of this, he had terrible problems relating to ordinary people and, acording to the legend, he killed most of those who got close to him.

Who was this guy and why are people still so enthralled by and passionate about his character?

I probably first came across the Hercules legend as a boy studying Greek and Roman mythology. I read and adored Thomas Bulfinch <http://www.online-literature.com/bulfinch/mythology_fable/12/> and Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I devoured Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales. Equally enthralling was the fact that so many of the ancient heroes and heroines could be seen as constellations in the night sky. But I received a telescope as a gift when I was eight and technology soon supplanted mythology. I lost interest in imaginary configurations of stars and learned to scan the heavens for satellites and lunar landing sites.

Anger and The Hero

Twenty-five years later, Hercules re-entered my life. I was researching a book anger and began looking at how different cultures and religions have confronted this powerful and much misunderstood emotion. It wasn't long before I returned to the Hercules myths. 

Reading them as an adult was an eye-opening experience. I found lessons in the story of Hercules that are worth repeating. They can teach us more about ourselves, if we can tune in to what the myths are telling us.

Hercules is the one of the greatest transitional figures in literature. He stands on the border between the uncivilized, beast-like creatures that we were and the cultured, intelligent humans we want to think we are. Sometimes a barbarian, sometimes a civilized man--

Hercules crosses back and forth between two worlds. He can control his emotions like an adult, or be ruled by them like a small child. His life's work is to learn self-control and to curb his impulses. It is the evolution of the super-ego as experienced by all of humanity. As we all go from infancy and childhood through adolescence to adulthood, we are all reliving the struggles of Hercules.

The model is particularly apt in our modern world. Some feel that gaps in our society arewidening, not so much along lines of class or race, but between those who have achieved "civilization" and those who have not learned to master their impulses and emotions.

This hypothesis is open to interpretation. There is a big difference between settling your disputes with a drive-by shooting and hauling your opponents into court. Road rage is not the same as divorce court, but the one is not a sanctioned method of relieving your anger and the other is. To be civilized implies finding less violent ways of coping with anger, no matter how justified it may be.

Hercules inability to control his own behavior when angry was the result of a curse placed on him by a jealous goddess, his father's wife. How does modern man excuse his lack of anger control? We blame unresolved issues with our fathers, attention deficit disorder, or divorce. For solutions to our problems we turn, of course, to drugs and alcohol. (Women in a similar bind take anti-depressants or seek asylum in shelters for battered women.) We can all learn from the old Greek: Hercules never, not once, shirked responsibility for his actions. He did penance many times over for the injuries he caused and for the people he killed. The strongest man in the world never, ever made excuses or tried to shift the blame onto someone else.

A Man's Man for All Seasons

At another point in the story, Hercules, unable to live with the violent passions of a man, entered the world of women. For a year or more, he chose to (or was ordered to, depending on the version you read) dress like a woman and to do women's chores. It is hard to understand this behavior, especially in a culture where women were considered by far to be far below men. Hercules was ridiculed and taunted for this and it is not clear whether he suffered patiently or was actually seething inwardly.

I find this part of the Hercules legend especially intriguing. I was a professional social worker in the 1980s and for many years, I felt myself to be a man in a womanÕs profession. Men and women who have been there no that it is not easy to cross that boundary.

I have also known many men of my generation who have tried to enter that part of the world traditionally relegated to women. We grew up in an age when the slogans of liberation and equality still had some meaning. We tried to create a love-relationship that went beyond the traditional gender roles. We got into all that "nurturing" girl stuff--changing diapers, nursing the sick, reading to our children--and we have even tried talking about our feelings. 
Some were more successful than others.

Hercules deserves our respect and admiration. He was sure enough of himself as a man to enter this world and not lose his sense of self. Hercules ought to be a hero to all modern men who are trying to cope with same issues.

Hercules the Engineer

After many years of doing interpersonal labor as a practicing social worker, I changed careers. I began teaching in the college of engineering and I found myself in a hotbed of new machines and high technology. My students were fond of telling me how proud they were to be engineers--professional problem solvers is how they put it. I was reminded once again of the Hercules myth.

The strongest man who ever lived is remembered for using his brains rather than his muscles to solve problems. When confronted with a challenge, Hercules could afford to be completely self-assured. There was no force in the world (except for evil magic) that could defeat him. His strength was beyond question. Yet he chose to use cunning and resourcefulness beat his enemies. And when faced with what we would consider an engineering problem--controlling nature, coping with hostile landscapes--the muscle-bound hero came up with solutions that were simple, direct, and required no calculus or computers, just a profound understanding of nature and of people.

Of course, Hercules never had to file an environmental impact statement or apply for a zoning permit. (Come to think of it, there were also many extinct species that were not really even endangered until Hercules showed up!)

He used his strength to fix things and his solutions were "quick and dirty" but they did the job. He was a "Can Do" kind of guy. We used to value the "Can Do" attitude in this country. 
It was a trade off against environmental concerns and now we regret plunging ahead without careful forethought. I think there will always be a need for people who are willing to leap before they look. I suspect that a lot of what we call ÒprogressÓ can be attributed to these folks and not all progress is bad, you know.

Unfortunately, we have become separated from our common heritage. The legend of Hercules can shine as brightly today as it did in the days of Euripedes. When we let Disney re-write our mythology to make it more marketable, we pay a price. The modern Greeks were right to protest the opening of a cartoon that devalued this ancient hero. More of us should protest the commercial appropriation of our past. We can all learn a lot from the story of the mighty Hercules.

1997