Hercules, a great figure in Greek mythology who fought massive beasts with his bear-like hands, can be considered one of the most popular in mythology Greek. How does Hercules compare to a little-known Nigerian boy born into poverty who achieves success through hard work, better known as Okonkwo. These heroes both had help from wise men, both had to prove themselves heroes in difficult situations, and they also had to deal with great pride that initially prevented them from fulfilling their destiny. Now let us compare the heroic nature of Hercules and Okonkwo. When going through difficult times or when faced with a difficult decision, the heroes both found the advice of very wise people, whether intentionally sought or not. In the story “Hercules,” the hero, obviously Hercules, went to “The Oracle of Delphi” to find out what he could do about the accidental murder of his own family. The oracle said to Hercules: “Go to King Eurystheus...and submit to whatever punishment is required of him” (“Hercules”). Then Hercules went to the king and had to perform the “12 Labors of Hercules” (“Hercules”) as punishment. Hercules completed all the tasks and the twelve labors ended up being Hercules' claim to fame and it was all to the credit of the Oracle's guidance. In Okonkwo's case, the advice came from one of Ezeudu's village elders who told him not to "participate in the death of Ikemefuna" (Achebe 57). Okonkwo, being a little more independent and stubborn than Hercules, completely ignored the advice and took down Ikemefuna to avoid being called weak. This moment in Okonkwo's daze helps you understand why Hercules' ending is a bit happier than Okonkwos' while still going through a similar journey...... middle of paper...... until it was too late for the other messengers had already left. They could now inform the others that Okonkwo had killed one of them. After Okonkwo killed the messenger, he realized that it was too late to save his culture and religion from the British who sought change. This rapid sequence of events led to Okonkwo's eternal downfall and he committed suicide out of despair. As these heroes both traveled through time being helped along the way, facing difficulties and finding fault in their own pride. One of these heroes experienced success and the other failed. Hercules took the Oracle's advice and used it to prove himself worthy of the title hero. Okonkwo let his negatives outweigh any great feats he was able to accomplish and so his end was not as sweet. These heroes, as similar as their journeys were, were destined for opposite destinies.