Table of Similarities and Differences…

Characters	Heracles the strong one	The twelve tasks of Heracles	Hercules
Heracles	l The son of Zeus and Alcmena l Born half mortal half immortal l Under Hera’s influence murders his wife and children l Completes twelve labours to redeem his sins l Marries Deianeira who is captured by Nessus l Heracles is poisoned by Deianeira l Heracles is made immortal by Zeus and taken to the Heavens	l The son of Zeus l Mortality not specified l Under Hera’s spell kills his children l Completes twelve tasks to redeem his sins l Is freed by King Eurystheus and is never bothered by Hera again	l The son of Zeus and Hera l Born immortal, transformed to mortal by Hades, keeping his strength l Finds out that he is the son of Zeus, required to become a hero to regain his immortality l Battles the monsters and creatures sent by Hades to become a hero l Gives his life in return for Meg’s l Becomes immortal but chooses to remain mortal with Meg
Hera	l Goddess of childbirth, wife and sister of Zeus l Delayed the birth of Heracles so that Eurystheus would have the right to the throne l Despised Heracles because he was the product of Zeus’ infidelity l Sends serpents to kill Heracles l Makes Heracles kill his wife and children in a fit of rage l Assists Eurystheus is setting the twelve labours for Heracles l Offers peace to Heracles when he becomes immortal	l Zeus’ wife l Dislikes Heracles l Sends snakes to kill Heracles l Puts Heracles under a spell so that he kills his children l Once Heracles forgiven for his sins she leaves him alone	l Goddess and wife of Zeus l Mother of Hercules
Zeus	l Lord of Olympus, husband and brother of Hera l Has affair with Alcmena, conceives Heracles l Makes Heracles immortal and brings him to the Heavens	l Father of Heracles and husband to Hera	l Ruler of Heaven and Earth, father to Hercules and husband to Hera l Directs Hercules to Phil to train him to become a hero so that Hercules can return to immortality l Zeus grants Hercules immortality and brings him to the heavens l Grants Hercules his wish to return to Earth as a mortal
Alcmena	l Daughter of Perseus, wife of Amphitryon l Tricked by Zeus and conceives his child Heracles l Brings Heracles up with his twin brother Iphicles		l Wife of Amphitryon and adoptive mother of Hercules
Amphitryon	l Husband of Alcmena, father of Iphicles and step-father to Heracles l Brings Heracles up as his own child		l Husband of Alcmena and adoptive father to Hercules
Hades	l God of the Underworld l Gives Heracles permission to take the dog of Cerberus is he can do this without using weapons	l When Heracles visits the Underworld he asks Hades to ferry him across.	l Brother of Zeus and God of the Underworld l Hates Hercules as he fears he will destroy his plot to take over the Heavens l Makes Hercules mortal in order to kill him l Forces Meg to plot against Hercules l Sends many beasts and creatures to kill Hercules l Makes a deal with Hercules to return Meg unharmed if he can have his strength for a day l Fights with the Titans against the Olympians to take over the Heavens l Defeated by Hercules l Hercules makes a deal with him to swap his life for Meg’s l Falls in the river of death
Philoctetes/ Phil			l A satyr (half goat, half man), trainer of heroes and friend to Hercules l Befriends and trains Hercules to become a hero l Informs Hercules of Meg’s deception l Assists Hercules in becoming a hero and therefore a God
Pegasus			l A flying horse made and given to Hercules by Zeus at birth l Jealous of Meg l Assists Hercules in many battles l Tricked into the stables by Hades sidekicks l Assists Hercules in defeating Hades

Key:

Similarities Blue

Differences Black