27. Hera was a Nemesis That Tried to End Hercules Every Chance She Got
Unlike the Hera of Disney’s Hercules, who doted upon her son the famous Greek hero, the Hera of ancient Greek mythology could not stand Hercules. She tried to do him in before he was even born. According to Greek mythology, when she learned that Zeus had impregnated Alcmene, the chief Olympian’s wife forced Ilithya, the goddess of childbirth, to keep Hercules trapped in his mother’s womb. That plan was eventually foiled when a servant surprised Ilithya, and got her to lose her concentration long enough for Hercules to get born. Hera did not give up, however. A few months later, when Hercules was still a baby, she sent giant snakes to take him out. However, the supernaturally strong Hercules grabbed one in each hand and strangled them.
Throughout Hercules’ life, Hera continued to do all she could to do for him. At some point, she inflicted upon him a divine fit of madness, and in the grip of insanity, a raving Hercules grabbed a bow and slew his wife and children. When he regained his sanity and realized what he had done, Hercules fled to the Oracle of Delphi, to find out what he could do to wash away his sin. Unfortunately, Hera controlled the Oracle. She got it to saddle Hercules with a series of seemingly impossible tasks as a condition for cleansing him – what became the Twelve Labors of Hercules. In short, if Disney’s Hercules had adhered to ancient Greek mythology, Hera would not be a loving and caring mother, but the villain of the story.
