Hercules & Megara's Relationship Is Far More Tragic Than The Disney Movie Lets On

Summary Disney made major changes to the Greek myth of Heracles for the movie Hercules.

Hercules and Megara didn't have a happy ending in the original Greek myth.

The tragic relationship between Hercules and Megara in the myth was too dark for Disney.

Hercules gives the title hero and Megara a happy ending, as Disney does with all its animated movies, but in reality, Hercules and Megara’s relationship is quite tragic. Disney is home to some of the best and most popular animated movies, and while it has some original stories, the Mouse House is known for adapting fairy tales, legends, and more. Due to its family-friendly approach, it’s no secret that Disney makes many changes to the stories it adapts to its animated movies, but many end up deviating too much from their source material.

Among them is Hercules, released in 1997 and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. Loosely based on the legend of Heracles from Greek mythology, Hercules tells the story of the title hero, who is stripped of his immortality by his uncle, Hades, but he retains his god-like strength. After being raised by mortals, Hercules learns the truth about his origin and sets out to become a hero to return to Mount Olympus with his parents, but Hades has other plans. Along the way, Hercules meets Megara, with whom he falls in love, but Disney completely changed their story to give them a happy ending.

Related Hercules Live-Action Remake Can Finally Fix The Animated Movie's Most Controversial Element The upcoming live-action remake of Hercules is the perfect chance to fix the animated movie's most controversial element and still be family-friendly.

Disney's Hercules Makes Some Major Changes To Greek Mythology

Hercules Wasn’t Loyal To Its Source

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The Greek myth it’s loosely based on is that of Heracles, but the movie used the hero's Roman name.

Although Disney usually makes changes to the fairy tales and legends it uses as inspiration for its movies to make them fit its family-friendly tone, Hercules went through so many that it led to a lot of backlash. First off, the Greek myth it’s loosely based on is that of Heracles, but the movie used the hero's Roman name. In the myth, Heracles was the son of Zeus but his mother was a mortal woman named Alcmene, not Hera. In fact, Hera, who was also Zeus’ wife in the myth, hated Heracles as he was the product of one of Zeus’ many affairs.

Other notable changes in Disney’s Hercules were the muses, who in Greek mythology were the daughters of Zeus and were nine, not five. Hades didn’t hate Heracles, and, in some myths, he actually lent him the dog Cerberus for his twelfth labor – and Disney’s Hercules only showed four of the twelve labors, and did so very briefly. Hercules’ trusty friend Pegasus wasn’t his in Greek mythology and was created from the blood of Medusa and ridden by Bellerophon. Hercules also omitted Heracles’ mortal twin half-brother, Iphicles, as Alcmene was impregnated by both Zeus and Amphitryon.

Hercules & Megara's Relationship Is Far More Tragic Than It Is In The Disney Movie

Hercules & Megara Didn’t Have A Happy Ending

In the Greek myth of Heracles, he also met Megara, and they had a relationship, but it was nothing like Disney’s version.

In Disney’s Hercules, the title hero met Megara when he was looking for a chance to prove himself as a hero. Megara was supposedly a damsel in distress, so Hercules helped her, but she was hiding a dark secret: Megara had sold her soul to Hades before the events of the movie to save her boyfriend, who ended up leaving her for another woman. Megara was now Hades’ slave, and it was thanks to her that he learned Pain and Panic had failed to kill Hercules many years before. However, Hades saw a chance to get rid of his nephew by using Megara as bait.

Read More Hercules' Biggest Plot Hole Proves Hades Is Really Bad At Being A Villain As fun as Hades is, he's pretty incompetent as a Disney villain, as highlighted by a big plot hole in Hercules regarding his plan against his nephew.

Of course, Megara ended up falling for Hercules, but Hades revealed their partnership after using her to make Hercules surrender his strength to save her, on the condition that she would be unharmed. Hercules got his strength back when Meg sacrificed herself to save him, and so he traveled to the underworld to recover Meg’s soul. This was the heroic act Hercules needed, and he not only saved Meg but also punched Hades into the Styx and returned to Mount Olympus. However, Hercules chose to return to Greece with Meg, giving up his god powers.

In the Greek myth of Heracles, he also met Megara, and they had a relationship, but it was nothing like Disney’s version. Megara was the daughter of King Creon and she married Heracles, with whom she had many sons, but Hera sent Heracles into a fit of temporary madness out of her hatred for him, and he killed Megara and their children.

Hercules & Megara's Original Greek Myth Never Would Have Worked For Disney

Disney Had To Change Hercules & Megara’s Story

Many things about the myth of Heracles could have been kept or shouldn’t have been changed so drastically, but that isn’t the case for his story with Megara.

There are details in the tales Disney uses as inspiration and reference for its animated movies that, understandably, have to be changed to fit its family-friendly tone. Surely, many things about the myth of Heracles could have been kept or shouldn’t have been changed so drastically, but that isn’t the case for his story with Megara. Hercules killing Meg and their children under the manipulation of Hera would have been way too dark for Disney, and there really isn’t a way around it.

Hercules and Meg getting a happy ending was definitely a wise decision by Disney, and it even gave them time to get to know each other, unlike most Disney couples. Heracles and Megara’s story is too dark even for the live-action version of Hercules, so it’s unlikely that it will be included in it, but other details more loyal to the myth could be.