HERCULES AND THE CIRCLE OF FIRE (1994)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *good*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical, psychological*

In Pindar’s epinician odes, Chiron is a teacher of practical and technical arts, as well as moral wisdom and prophetic knowledge. Apparently universally beloved, he bridges the divide between humans and beasts. But when he is accidentally struck by Heracles with an arrow dipped in the Hydra’s poison, he retreats from the human world into a cave, returning to the natural world. His agony is so extreme that he, an immortal being, wishes to die. Heracles provides the resolution to Chiron’s paradox, as Zeus allows Chiron to give his immortality to Heracles and die...it is the same Heracles who frees Prometheus by killing Zeus’ eagle and releasing him from his bonds. Heracles is thus the pivot on which Prometheus’ return to the immortals and Chiron’s descent to mortality turns. 

Without having yet re-watched the last two pilot-telefilms for the HERCULES series, I'm pretty sure CIRCLE displays maximum mythicity among the five movies, and possibly for all episodes of the TV show as well.

CIRCLE does not attempt to tell archaic myth's story of Hercules' role in the lives of both the wise centaur Chiron and the imprisoned enemy of the gods, Prometheus. Many elements are clearly re-arranged, and for good measure the new story also brings in the love of the hero's life. But for once, the romantic B-story complements the main narrative.

Archaic Hercules is never precisely involved in a story to save the world from destruction, though Greek myth does have its share of world-dooms, as when Zeus exterminates most of humanity some time after Prometheus gives mortals the gift of fire. The ancient hero's involvement in ransoming Prometheus from the underworld through an exchange of immortal "mana," though, is probably one of his most cosmic exploits.

In CIRCLE, it doesn't appear that the Titan Prometheus was ever punished by the film's easygoing version of Zeus (Anthony Quinn). But, following a mostly irrelevant action-sequence, Hercules seeks out his friend Chiron, who seems to be an immortal satyr rather than the traditional centaur. As in the myth, this Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) accidentally wounded his friend, but for some reason the wound won't heal and Chiron suffers interminably. Unlike bachelor Hercules, Chiron has kids and a wife (strangely named Amalthea, foster-mother of Zeus in myth). 

Then Hercules learns that the people in Chiron's village can't keep any of their fires lighted. The hero's father informs him that Hera wishes to exterminate humanity (essentially taking over Zeus's "bad god" role). To that end, Hera has stolen from Prometheus the Eternal Torch-- implicitly, the one the Titan used to steal fire from Mount Olympus-- and the Torch's absence will ensure that no earthly fire burns again. But Zeus won't tell Hercules anything more, and in fact forbids him to intervene.

Hercules journeys to the palace of Prometheus to learn more, but he doesn't go alone. Feisty young village-woman Deianeira (Tawny Kitaen), who's already given the hero some lip about his violent ways, appoints herself his aide. The duo reach the snow-bound palace of Prometheus, who's become an Ice-Titan as a result of the Torch's theft, as if he'd become the antithesis of his normal nature. He sends the heroes to find the Torch in a particular mountain sanctuary.

Hercules and Deianeira keep on their course, passing into a forest and exchanging romantic barbs all the way. They encounter a literal "wild child," a super-acrobatic little girl with the very oddly chosen name of "Phaedra." Hercules and Deianeira get to play parent-figures to the orphan (whose full origins are never explained) for a bit, but then Phaedra gives the couple directions that lead them into peril twice. Hercules suspects the child may be a pawn of Hera, though later it will be revealed that Phaedra's delaying tactics were ordered by Zeus himself.

Before reaching their goal, the couple stay at an inn, albeit in separate rooms. Some hot-to-trot girls sneak into Hercules' room, and an unidentified spell causes the hero to think he's about to get it on with Deianeira. The real thing barges in on the party and the spell is broken, but Deianeira's true feelings for Hercules are on full display.

They remain a team as they enter Hera's mountain sanctuary, but they're blocked by Zeus himself. The King of the Gods explains that Hera has secured the Torch with a circle of fire, and that the fire possesses the power to kill even an immortal. Zeus briefly fights his son to keep him from sacrificing himself for humanity, but Hercules won't quit. Soon he enters the Circle, seizes the Torch and hurls it into the sky, which somehow causes it to return to Prometheus' palace. The cosmic order is restored, but Hercules's life is draining away. Only when Zeus himself approaches the barrier does it disappear, apparently because Hera isn't willing to kill her divine husband for reasons never revealed.

Then comes the script's reworking of the "immortality exchange." Instead of Hercules taking immortality-mana from Chiron to give to Prometheus, he uses Hera's immortality-draining fire to turn Chiron mortal, which for some reason cures his wound as well. The satyr is reunited with his family and Hercules begins a new life with Deianeira. But the only reason all the "happy ending" contrivances work is because the script and producers did an exemplary job of plunging the world of fire and life into an abyss of frosty death.