Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Adaptational Villainy of Some Characters

Here's some adaptational villainy I thought needs to be addressed:


Hera- First and foremost, while it's certainly true to the myths that Hera hated Hercules but the show just makes her "too evil" where a lot of Zeus' misdeeds like separating Echidna from her husband Typhon or wanting to take fire away from man.  Yup, several times Hera has become more of a villain who throws her anger at the world than a bitter anti-heroine.  In the myths, Hera hated Hercules because the name Hercules means "Glory to Hera".  Pretty much the show makes Hera more cruel and hateful than she is in the myth.  In the myth, Hera's anger towards Hercules was pacified after the twelve labors and after Hercules rescued her from being raped by the titan Portheryon.

ARES - KEVIN SMITH
Ares- Well Ares is another.  While the myths don't really portray him to be really evil, Hercules the Legendary Journeys pictures him to be much worse to the point he replaced his mother Hera as the show's main antagonist.  Okay it's true in the myths that Ares was rejected by his parents for his crude nature, he wasn't THAT evil.  Another thing to remember is that Ares DOES NOT confront Hercules all that often in the myths either.  It's most likely the two reconciled after Hera reconciles with Hercules.  In the myths, he is the patron god of Sparta and some people pray to him before going to a war.  He was more viewed ambivalently in the myths than he was at the show- a very hated villain whose worshipers were only on a one-sided view.


Apollo- Yup this is another adaptational villainy.  In contrast to most Apollo incarnations where he was the Oracle at Delphi, the series makes him into a annoying arrogant jerk who really causes more harm than good which makes him radically different from the mythology.

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