Thesis Statement
The ’12 Labors of Hercules,’ a thought-provoking story from Greek mythology, is instructive and can be applied in many ways today. The topic of the study is the timeless nature of the narratives about Hercules’ feats and what insight they provide today. After comprehensively researching selected relevant sources, it can be outlined how the story of ’12 Labors of Hercules’ can be applied in the context of personal development and difficulties posed by the modern pace of life. Endurance, determination, and magnificence in navigating a complex path are correlated with today’s challenges that individuals face, including self-improvement issues, psychological challenges, and emotional stability.
Annotated Bibliography
Arafat, S. F. “Developing Leadership among Students through the Textbook: An Analysis of the English for Today for Classes XI-XII in Bangladesh.” International Journal of Science and Business, vol. 4, no. 5, 2020, pp. 105-119.
This resource is dedicated to mastering leadership strategies in students through academic learning, mainly via textbooks. The article notes that the perspective of educational policies aims at students as future leaders (Arafat 113). The publication categorizes different types of leadership and draws parallels with varying contexts for better understanding and application.
One of the areas suggested by the article is the perspective of myths and legends. In particular, it explains how and for what purpose characters and events from ancient legends are incorporated into the textbook context. In the direction under investigation, this source is essential for identifying the relationship between leadership, education, and mythological narratives.
Thus, the described correlations should be applied in the study of self-improvement and emotional awareness. In addition, I will use this article to explain the importance of implementing references to myths and legends in leadership development.
Blanshard, Alastair JL, and Emma Stafford, eds. The Modern Hercules: Images of the Hero from the Nineteenth to the Early Twenty-First Century. Vol. 21, Brill, 2020.
This book comprehensively examines depictions and interpretations of the image of Hercules in various works of art and literature and from diverse perspectives from the 19th to the early 21st century. Thus, the source provides examples of adaptations of the character and his life story, including 12 Labors, according to cultural background, social position, and political context.
Moreover, the insights outlined in the book significantly contribute to understanding modern heroism and the challenges people face today. The image of Hercules in the contemporary era is essential to study because it inspires resilience and strength (Blanshard and Stafford 296). I will utilize this book to discuss the character in current interpretations and in light of today’s challenges. Furthermore, I will incorporate the results of my analysis of this topic in introducing points of influence of the depiction of Hercules’ endurance on contemporary society.
Driga, Anna Maria, Paraskevi Lykou, and Vaia Manoli. “The 12 Feats of Hercules and Their Relation to the Emotional Intelligence and the Role of ICTs in EI Training and Development.” World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, vol. 19, no. 2, 2023, pp. 1390-1405.
The article is dedicated to researching the relationship between feats of Hercules and emotional intelligence, including the role of information and communication technologies. In this context, the story of 12 laborers serves as a metaphor for the difficult path to self-improvement and stability. While emphasizing the importance of digital technologies, the article describes how the achievements of Hercules correlate with the challenges posed by complex conditions of the fast-moving present on the way to mastering emotional intelligence and awareness (Driga et al. 1401).
This source is essential for the study of the given topic, as it offers a view of the ancient myth from a modern perspective. Thus, Hercules’ experience provides insights into individuals’ challenges in today’s digitalized world, how they deal with them, and what skills need to be mastered. I will apply the information provided to support an argument for the relevance of the myth’s meaning today from an emotional intelligence perspective.
Hawes, Greta. “Heracles Rationalized and Allegorized.” The Oxford Handbook of Heracles, edited by Daniel Ogden, Oxford University Press, 2021, pp. 395-409.
This book chapter is a comprehensive guide and a rich source of information about Hercules, his exploits, historical background, interpretations, and the influence of the image on various areas of art and society. The handbook is conveniently divided into two parts, comprehensively considering his character and evaluating different viewpoints. In the first part, the reader can get acquainted with the historical evidence base about Hercules. More specifically, the second part provides an overview of cultural, artistic, political, and psychological perspectives (Hawes 397).
I aim to engage the book’s content to establish a ground for research and exploration of the importance of the image in a cultural and social context. Moreover, I will describe the dependence of the facts in the first part and the corresponding interpretation in the book’s second part. In addition, it provides an essential insight into the study of the correlation between the psychological endurance of Hercules and the significance of emotional stability in the modern world.
Janka, Markus. “Heracles/Hercules as the Hero of a Hopeful Culture in Ancient Poetry and Contemporary Literature and Media for Children and Young Adults.” Our Mythical Hope, edited by Katarzyna Marciniak, Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2021, pp. 231-250.
A section of the book on the diversity of depictions of the Hercules image in various genres is dedicated to the personification of opposite characteristics. In particular, it is emphasized how the character is on the verge of hope and death and struggles with the challenges (Janka 231). While going into more specifics, the source indicates the transformative nature of the vision of Hercules and its evolution in ancient literature with a particular focus on Sophocles’ Trachiniae. As the chapter enables an image analysis in light of its complexity and ambiguity,
I plan to incorporate this information to explain its relevancy to contemporary societal challenges. While the source itself does not provide a parallel, in my research, I will apply the insights gained to delineate the connection between the ambiguity of Hercules and the complex essence of the psychological challenges of the contemporary person.
Maurice, Lisa. “From Elitism to Democratisation: A Half-Century of Hercules in Children’s Literature.” Journal of Historical Fictions, vol. 2, no. 2, 2019, pp. 81-101.
The paper by Lisa Maurice allows one to delve into the subtleties of interpreting the image of Hercules over fifty years. The article describes how and under the influence of which factors Hercules was portrayed and what changes his image underwent by the end of the twentieth century (Maurice 81). Moreover, the author analyzes the ongoing trend of modernizing the images of antiquity and their adaptation to unique cultural backgrounds, the targeting of humor, and the audience. Considering the peculiarities of human perception and changing conditions, it is possible to single out the modern aspects of the influence of the narratives of antiquity on the personality.
I rely on this source to explain broader cultural elements and changes in their relationship to the main human virtues. Thus, the image of Hercules in the context of this article will be used for my paper to support the argument for the adaptability of myths to modern human needs.
Pertsinidis, Sonia. “Resilience and Euripides’ Heracles.” Humanities, vol. 10, no. 1, 2021, p. 44.
This article focuses on a study of the main character’s resilience in Euripides’ tragedy, “Heracles.” According to the plot, the life of Heracles (Hercules in Roman) undergoes transformational changes that test him in every possible sense (Pertsinidis). The author proposes considering the hero’s self-development over time, emphasizing the change in his goals and values. Thus, regarding both the physical and psychological trials Hercules faces, these narratives’ relevance to modern resilience research is offered.
The article presents a study of personality development under the burden of challenges from the perspective of classical tragedy. By exploring the intricacies of human suffering and related experienced emotions and insights, this paper helps reveal resilience and recovery topics. I intend to apply the outlined information to explain the issue of self-development and becoming an endurable individual in the modern world with reference to the tragically portrayed path of Hercules.
Scafoglio, Giampiero. “Dante’s Hercules.” Herakles Inside and Outside the Church: From the First Apologists to the End of the Quattrocento, edited by Arlene Allan, Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides, and Emma Stafford, Brill, 2020, pp. 155-170.
The following source chosen for analysis is the chapter of the book describing the subtleties of the Christian interpretation of Hercules’s image in late antiquity and the later Middle Ages. Thus, in history, the myth of Hercules and his character were highlighted differently depending on the purpose of the cultural message at a particular time (Scafoglio 159). The text delves into the religious significance of Hercules, thereby offering a unified vision of his image. Therefore, this source provides a multifaceted view of the virtues of Hercules and their importance in human development. Although the Christian focus does not apply to the subject, the source is critically needed to study the broader context of Hercules’ place in the culture.