Disney Got the Story of Hercules Horribly Wrong
In the 1997 Disney animated movie, Hercules, the hero is the beloved son of the chief Olympian god, Zeus, and the goddess, Hera. In the musical fantasy comedy, Zeus’ evil brother Hades, god of the dead and lord of the underworld, hatches a plot to overthrow Zeus and become the chief god of Mount Olympus. However, the fell plan depends on Hercules’ noninterference, so Hades sends his minions to kidnap and exterminate him while he is still an infant. Baby Hercules is kidnapped, but he survives the murder attempt, and the rest of the movie revolves around his growing up to eventually thwart Hades.
Per ancient Greek folklore, however, Hercules – or Heracles as the ancient Greeks called him – was not Zeus’ and Hera’s beloved son. Hera, as a matter of fact, hated Hercules with a passion. Zeus cheated on her constantly, and Hercules was Zeus’ son with a mortal woman named Alcmene. As seen below, rather than dote upon baby Hercules, Zeus’ wife went out of her way to mess him up whenever she could. And since she was a goddess, with divine powers, she often messed him up good.
