What Makes a True hero, Hercules' Lesson - A Kingdom Hearts Essay by Dan
Olympus Colisseum Analysis
In the game Kingdom Hearts, we first have Deep Jungle, and following that, it leads us to Olympus Coliseum, where we meet Hercules, Phil and Cloud Strife, along with the villainous Hades. Hearing that there is a major tournament that is happening, the heroes Sora, Donald and Goofy are interested in challenging it, eager to put their strength to the test, and be praised and acknowledged as heroes.
However, it isn’t that simple, as Phil lectures them, and even mocks them, seeing them as a child, a duck, and a dimwitted dog, outright refusing to allow them to participate, even after Sora pushes the one box that Phil asks them to push. Hades is right that he is pretty stubborn. As Sora fights, he gains fame and glory taking down Cerberus, and even Cloud in the tournament.
And I must confess, that the first time I played, I went to Olympus Coliseum before Deep Jungle, and didn’t have the Guard ability, because I chose the Sword instead of the Shield, therefore I couldn’t beat Cerberus, and I gave up on the game for a long time. And so I missed out on the lesson Sora had to learn about being heroes, and trying to do something that I wasn’t ready for.
And that gets down to the important lesson Sora, Donald and Goofy need to learn on this world; Pride. Sora wants to test himself after getting the Keyblade, but it leads to Sora assuming he’s ready for everything, getting upset when Phil tells him he isn’t ready. And it’s not a lesson that is easily understood and picked up.
There’s pride, and then there’s Pride. One of the two allows one to feel confidence, and it’s a matter of honour and self-respect. The other represents a particular sin, and the old saying “Pride before a fall”. And it’s important that he learns this lesson early on, as being given such power can lead to an overinflated ego, which is why Riku was denied the Keyblade. It’s because of all his feelings about being jealous of Sora, and he had an ego that said he was right, which is something that many boys his age have to learn.
Sora risks having this, having sealed three keyholes up to date, and fighting against numerous heartless, thinking he is ready to stand with the greats. Perhaps in order to explain this, we can take a look at the movie “Hercules”.
The animated movie sets up a departure from the myths, as Hercules was born a full god to Zeus and Hera, and was cursed and was found by an aged couple, Alcmene and Amphitryon. It’s a bit similar to Superman’s origin story, however it is different, as this version doesn’t have to worry about the vengeful Hera, but the jealous and egotistical Hades.
This Zeus is very much the opposite of the Zeus we see in “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”, being faithful to his wife, lovable, heroic, and understands what it means to have a true heart, and is a wise father, telling his son about being a true hero, instead of the irresponsible and cowardly adulterer in the live action series. One minute he groups up, but then it’s two steps back. As Herc grows up, he feels like an outcast until he is told that they found and adopted him, showing him the medallion that he had when he was found.
Over the course of the movie, Hercules gets so caught up in the popularity, riches and superficial lifestyle, that he forgot what it meant to be a true hero. Yes, he regaled his father with his stories, but when Hercules told him he was ready to join the gods, Zeus told him it’s not how it works, and that he isn’t a true hero yet, something that upsets Hercules, and leaves frustrated. Eventually he chases everyone away because he gets a big head, and Hades takes advantage of that, and Megara interferes, having Hercules set up a clause over her safety, which she ends up dying at the hands of the Cyclops, and after taking care of him, Hercules goes to rescue her spirit and return it to her.
By nearly sacrificing his soul to save hers, he became a god because he learned how to be a true hero. He learned that a True Hero has no pride or ego, but is a humble man that doesn’t fight for glory, and that he has to commit to protect those around him. He lost track of his objective for self-gratifying celebrity worship.
This is something that Hercules needed to teach Sora, to help Sora fight against Hades and the forces of the Heartless, learning how to be humble. He can be proud as a man for becoming a hero, but he has to be humble enough not to let the vanity go to his head, as teen boys Sora’s age can have these flaws in spades, and Sora being muleheaded in his own right, needed to tackle.
Donald and Goofy would insist Sora is a hero to Phil, but Sora couldn’t just tell he was a hero, because that’s not what a real hero does. Hercules saw potential in the group, and learned quite a bit in his adventures, lessons he wished to impart to Sora and his friends, in a very Greek and Socratian method; they had to learn these lessons on their own. It’s why often, the three can get very goofy, and be silly with each other, as Sora and Donald had their pride, which led to their conflict in Deep Jungle.
They learned not to let their egos take them over, and by learning it early, then they can combat the Heartless far more effectively, rather than give up, like I did all those years ago, when I stupidly went for a level I really wasn’t ready for. I didn’t understand how to be a hero, much like Sora.
However, I was far more like Riku, and if I couldn’t accomplish something, I would give up. I never liked losing, and if I couldn’t finish something, I would put it off indefinitely, and thus, it was a good thing I never got the keyblade.
There’s also another character on this world that is so busy learning such a lesson, and yet the student Sora, who hasn’t learned the lesson yet, one which the boy is teaching this character about humility, pride and taking shortcuts; Cloud Strife.
He is so busy trying to find Aerith, that he gets manipulated, thinking he is in control and knows what he wants, and how to use the power Hades gave him, which ended up with Cloud losing control and losing to Sora. One could say that he learned his lesson after Cerberus’ defeat, but he still didn’t listen or learn the lesson. All he needed to do was to swallow his pride and ask Sora if he met a woman by the name of Aerith, which Sora would have happily told him about her.
But his pride and ego allowed him to be manipulated by Hades, to fight against both Sora and Hercules, who had nothing to do with his search for Aerith. Even his overall storyline involves his ego in defeating Sephiroth. His story is very much like G-Gundam’s Domon Kasshu, who is searching for his brother. At the very least, Domon is asking people if they saw a person in a picture, whereas Cloud is just looking for a woman.
Then why is it that Phil and Hercules keep it from Sora, Donald and Goofy that Cerberus was weakened enough for the neophyte warrior Sora to finish him off? Because they want the three to feel pride in their actions as heroes, not let their pride as the holder of the Keyblade, and the only hope for the worlds get to their heads.
They want Sora to have a form of tangible pride to prove to themselves they can do the right thing. And the way Hercules wants Sora to learn on his own, is because to be a True Hero is not something he can teach. It has to be something one learns on his own, through his own efforts and experience. The humility and the ability to determine what it means to fight to protect is what should drive a hero forward.
To fail in this lesson can lead any of us astray as well. We see it a lot in our failed heroes today. They let their egos over their work and what they have accomplished rule them, as they hold it over everyone else, saying that only they understand what goes on, and they define it in such a perverted version of being a “hero” in their field, that they genuinely lose track with who they are, and the reality of the world.
It is certainly a heavy burden, one that Sora struggles with a lot, not just with humility, but with the meaning of a True Hero, a lesson that he learns through the game when it comes with the level, but also throughout all the games. And people use that humility to step all over him.
Riku takes advantage of it later on in the game, as do other villains. But Hercules also teaches him that no matter how much you are beaten down, you need to get back up, face what danger and obstacles stand before you, and do the right thing. There’s a reason why Phil calls them Junior Heroes, much to their irritation; and that’s because a hero always has something else to learn, a lesson that needs humility to learn, something carried over through Sora, Donald and Goofy’s adventures.
In the end, we are all lucky I didn’t have the Keyblade when I was Sora’s age at the time. If I were to give up so soon in the journey, then I would have failed to save all the worlds.