Alyssa Zheng, Period 2, 11/11/2022

 Literacy and Learning 

As we progress through the Greek mythology unit, the one overarching theme that has stuck with me is the concept of power. Those born into power will always stay in power, and those not will never get on the same level, no matter how hard they try. The Greek gods in these stories are almighty, although flawed by characteristics like jealousy and greed, they never actually face the consequences of their actions. This is perfectly shown in the story of Hercules. 

Hercules is a complete human form of strength and confidence. Even in the extremely inaccurate Disney movie that I watched as a kid, he’s shown to be overwhelmingly strong, confident, and even godlike. No matter how godlike he is, however, he is still half mortal. He is still susceptible to punishment and consequences. While he plays important roles in fighting battles in favor of the gods with his strength and bravery, he still gets punished for his crime. Despite his crime technically being evoked by Hera, Hercules was forced to take blame, just because Hera was goddess, and she was in power. Hera was clearly in the wrong, and it can be argued that she was the only one in the wrong, but she never faces the consequences of what she does. This says a lot about society both back then and now. Justice is ideal, but there are definitely situations where the powerful and rich get to get away with things that normal people don’t. This is repeated throughout the Greek stories that we read in this class, not just Hercules. Any stories related to Zeus committing adultery with a mortal woman ends with the woman being killed or punished, even though Zeus can be argued to be the main offender. 

Another way this story connects to today’s world is the debate of whether or not Hercules should be punished. He gruesomely murdered his own wife and kids, but under the uncontrollable influence of Hera. Comparatively, there are many conversations about whether or not criminals with mental health issues should be punished. Sicknesses like sociopathy and anxiety cannot be entirely blamed on the individual, but there has to be an extent to where it can act as an excuse for crimes. In today’s society, those with mental illness who commit crimes are either regularly incarcerated or sent to mental hospitals, but there are blurred standards for that. It is still an ongoing conversation about how to define mental illness in prisoners and how it should affect their sentencing. 

Overall, Hercules’ perfectly encompasses the main ideals of Greek mythology including power, strength, and confidence. However, it also touches on topics that are still issues in today’s world, including justification of punishment in relation to uncontrollable mental illnesses. Despite being such an old story, it is very modern with the topics that it covers, and says a lot about society both then and now.