Journey of the Immigrant Hero
Heracles is the Wetback of Greek mythology. This demigod is still held in high regard as the protector of Ancient Greece, but he cannot escape the fact he is an outsider, the product of Zeus’s infidelity, and thus controversial on Mount Olympus as well as earth. Heracles’ situation isn’t an uncommon one; a more modern version of this complex is found in DC Comic’s Superman. Both heroes are immigrants to their society. Their source of infamy is simultaneously their weakness: their origin, or where they came from.
Being half god, half mortal, Heracles’ weakness and strength is Zeus’ genes that make him part-god. Although this strength might seem purely beneficial, when combined with his mortal half, it becomes an impairment as well. It is his strength that alienates him from society. Superman’s weakness is Kryptonite, the mineral debris from his planet Krypton, which was transformed into radioactive material by the forces that destroyed the planet. This association with his native land, the origin of his powers, is his strength for obvious reasons.
Despite being very different myths, both weaknesses come from the “atonement with father” stage in Joseph Campbell’s Seventeen Stages of the Monomyth. Heracles’ atonement-with-father stage occurs when his actual father, Jupiter, is pleased to see his fellow gods and goddesses show concern for his son and he formally announces Heracles’ origin from his seed. Seeing as Superman was not technically conceived by his home planet, the “father” may be a symbol of whatever holds the ultimate power in his life, rather than a physical man. One might see a planet as a more appropriate symbol for the maternal or feminine part to a hero. A planet is generally large and circular, related to a womb and to the earth or ground from whence things grow. However, this atonement stage has no reason to be strictly masculine. Superman’s genes came from his biological father, but his strength and supernatural powers originate from his planet’s evolution of its species.
Another example of a feminine atonement stage is found in the Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh: his god-like qualities come from his mother, the goddess Ninlil. King Gilgamesh’s strength, highlighted in the atonement stage, brings him fame and glory, but also brings him enemies and unwanted attention from certain gods.
Campbell’s “journey of the hero” is of a cyclical nature (in Heracles’ case) in that the hero returns to his origin. After a lifetime of labors, fame, and multiple lovers, Heracles’ immortal side is returned to his father, Zeus, and carried to Mount Olympus. Once a god, he marries Hebe, the goddess of youth, and a ceremony is enacted portraying his birth (his emergence from the bosom of the goddess). His lifetime has made a full cycle back to his youth. Before his mortal body is burned away on his pyre, Heracles asks his servants to ignite the kindling underneath him and end his suffering. None of his men agree to light his fire, save for Philoctetes, who is rewarded with Heracles’ bow and arrows. This act is symbolic for many cultures’ traditions that deal with the dead. One will find that every culture, though accepting different beliefs, all return their dead from where they believe the body first came. Christians have more concern with a body’s soul and its reunion with its creator, God. Others may find importance in specific rituals to reunite the dead with their maker, whether it is the earth or a divine ruler. No matter each society’s difference, everyone can agree with the necessity for respect for the dead or dying and local tradition. If Heracles is the immigrant in his story, those who refuse to torch his pyre represent a different culture’s misunderstanding of his needs. Philotetes’ deed is symbolic for acceptance and respect for a foreign culture’s traditions. The bow and arrows are symbols of the rewards of those who are respectful of tradition, much like good Karma in Hinduism.
Perhaps, because of their differences, these heroes have more to offer to their respective worlds than the average citizen. Why not apply this idea to modern immigrants on American soil? Perhaps, because of their differences, immigrants have much to offer and could aid in rising crime rates or, a less comic-book crisis like a solution to America’s depleting natural sources. There may not be an extra terrestrial super-being walking among us, but to be fair, our world isn’t wrought with mythical beasts to slaughter or underground super-villains to throw out of our orbit.
