Heracles Reaction

Mark Di Pasquale                                                                                10/21

                                                 Reaction Paper

        There seems to be a common theme among these myths in this chapter.  For example Heracles and Balder are both beloved by their people. In the Ramyana, Rama is known by his people for being wise and virtuous. I feel that Demeter & Persephone have a bit of a different tone than the other myths in this section. One thing they do all have in common is the presence of an evil deity that is trying to bring them down. In Persephone’s case, this would be Hades who brings her down to the Underworld. For Heracles, it is the evil goddess Hera. They do have different reasons for why they hate the protagonist, but it is still very similar.

I would say that the Ramayana and the myth of Persephone and Demeter are very alike, as is The Death of Balder and the Labors of Heracles. Loki and Hera are very much alike in that they are very underhanded. The evil god of the underworld Hades is very much alike to Ravana. Both Hades and Ravana kidnap a woman they have fallen in love with, and refuse to return them. In the story of Demeter and Persephone, Zeus calls on Hermes to travel to the underworld to get Persephone. In the Ramyana, Rama is on his own to rescue his wife Sita. He eventually has to make an alliance with a monkey king and wage war and the demon Ravana. The ending to these myths have good and bad outcomes. The conclusion to the myth Demeter and persephone is somewhat of both. For six months of the year Persephone must stay with Hades and be his wife, for the other six months she can be home with Demeter who rejoices. In the case of Balder and Heracles, they are both dead at the end of their myths.

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