Hercules was a cartoon on One Saturday Morning based on the 1997 film of the same name. It starred demigod Hercules as he dealt with life as a mortal.
Characters
- Hercules- a teenage demigod loosely based on the legendary Greek hero. He takes the Roman name most likely because it is easier to pronounce than Herakles.
- Philoctetes- "Phil" for short. He is Herc's coach. He is named after the son of King Poeas of Meliboea, Thessaly. He is a satyr and speaks with a Brooklyn accent. He is ill-tempered. He was voiced by Danny DeVito in the original film, but DeVito was unable to reprise his role for the series.
- Hades- the suave, fire-headed lord of the Underworld. He flames up when he gets angry.
- Zeus- the head of the Gods and the father of Hercules. He communicates to his son through the Temple of Zeus in Olympia.
- Hera- Zeus's wife and mother of Hercules. In the mythology, however, it was she who made Hercules mortal and oftentimes tried to kill him.
- Cassandra- Trojan war prophet who occasionally has bad visions.
- Icarus- a weird guy based on the mythological character. In the mythology, Icarus had flown using wax wings, but his wings melted when he got too close to the sun, and Icarus fell to his death.
- Pegaus- Herc's winged steed whom he met at birth. Created from the clouds by Zeus.
- Hermes- Zeus's messenger, although much dumber than the lightspeed traveler of antiquity.
- Athena- the goddess of wisdom whom Hercules seeks help from, and the deity for whom the city of Athens is named.
- Aphrodite- the goddess of love and beauty.
- Bacchus- the jolly and funloving god of drink and pleasure. This Roman name was chosen over the Greek Dionysus possibly for several reasons. First, Bacchus is easier to pronounce and spell. Second, the "bacchaval" is famous for being a major Roman festival. There is also the expression "a bacchanalia".
- Cupid- the classic putto whose arrows will make whomever they strike fall in love with the first person they see. He was chosen over Eros to make the series more family-friendly.
- Pain and Panic- Hades' demonic henchmen. Pain, as his name suggests, tends to end up in painful situations. He is sly, and tends to be the leader of the two. Panic, on the other hand, is always paranoid (as his name suggests). Strangely, in the film and series they were chosen over Phobos and Deimos, the gods of fear and terror (respectively). These two deities inspired the names of Mars' moons.
- Ares- the god of war and sister of Athena. Seen in a few episodes.
- Kronos- one of the titans and former ruler of Greece before Zeus usurped him. Not to be confused with Khronos, the god of time (from which we get the "chrono" prefix).
- Poseidon- god of the sea and brother of Zeus. A minor character in the film, but major character in the series.
- Helios- titan representing the sun. Appears in only one episode.
- The Fates- three moirai who determine the destinies of women and men. They share one eye.
- Clotho- weaves a person into existence. In the series, she can see the present.
- Lachesis determines the length of each person's life. In the series, she can see the past.
- Atropos- severs a person's life. In the series, she can see the future.
- Artemis- goddess of nature and the moon. In the real mythology, Selene is the goddess of the moon while Artemis is more the goddess of the hunt.
- Atlas- a titan who insulted the gods and was cursed to hold up the sky for eternity. In the real mythology, he holds up the universe.
Video Game
A game based on the film was released to PlayStation and Game Boy. The PlayStation version was well-received.
Trivia
- Ancient Greece is depicted as it is today, with stark white temples and broken statues. Archaeologists have long since revealed that such buildings and sculptures were actually painted. Also, like the film, it is modernized to make it more appealing to children.
- In one episode, it is revealed that Hercules is a big fan of Odysseus, whose exploits took place centuries after Hercules' death in the real mythology.
- In the real mythology, Hercules never meets Pegasus.
- Achilles appears in one episode as an old, retired warrior. In the original myth, Achilles is killed from being struck in the heel (the one spot which had not been immersed in the Water of Immortality).
- Continuity Error: In the film, Phil claims that Achilles died due to being struck in the heel.
- In the real mythology, Zeus only appeared on Earth in the form of a swan.
- Poseidon's Roman equivalent, Neptune, appears in The Little Mermaid
- Nike, goddess of victory and origin of the name of the brand of shoes, was planned for the series but never appeared. She does appear in the film, however.
- Keith David provided the voice of Apollo in the series. He is better known for his role as Goliath in Gargoyles and Captain Anderson in the video game Mass Effect