LERNAEAN HYDRA - Nine-Headed Serpent of Greek Mythology Heracles, Iolaus and the Hydra, Athenian red-figure stamnos C5th B.C., Regional Archeological Museum Antonio Salinas HYDRA LERNAIA (Lernaean Hydra) was a gigantic, nine-headed water-serpent, which haunted the swamps of Lerna. Herakles (Heracles) was sent to destroy her as one of his twelve labours, but for each of her heads that he decapitated, two more sprang forth. So with the help of Iolaos (Iolaus), he applied burning brands to the severed stumps, cauterizing the wounds and preventing the regeneration. In the battle he also crushed a giant crab beneath his heel which had come to assist the Hydra. The Hydra and the Crab were afterwards placed amongst the stars by Hera as the Constellations Hydra and Cancer.

FAMILY OF THE HYDRA [1.1] TYPHOEUS & EKHIDNA (Hesiod Theogony 313, Hyginus Pref & Fab 30 & 151) [1.2] EKHIDNA (Ovid Metamorphoses 9.69) ENCYCLOPEDIA HYDRA. This monster, like the lion, was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, and was brought up by Hera. It ravaged the country of Lernae near Argos, and dwelt in a swamp near the well of Amymone: it was formidable by its nine heads, the middle of which was immortal. Heracles, with burning arrows, hunted up the monster, and with his club or a sickle he cut off its heads; but in the place of the head he cut off, two new ones grew forth each time, and a gigantic crab came to the assistance of the hydra, and wounded Heracles. However, with the assistance of his faithful servant Iolaus, he burned away the heads of the hydra, and buried the ninth or immortal one under a huge rock.

Having thus conquered the monster, he poisoned his arrows with its bile, whence the wounds inflicted by them became incurable. Eurystheus declared the victory unlawful, as Heracles had won it with the aid of Iolaus. (Hes. Theog. 313, &c.; Apollod. ii. 5. § 2; Diod. iv. 11; Eurip. Herc. Fur. 419, 1188, Ion, 192; Ov. Met. ix. 70; Virg. Aen. viii. 300; Paus. ii. 36. § 6, 37. § 4, v. 5. § 5; Hygin. Fab. 30.) Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES HYDRA THE SECOND LABOUR OF HERACLES Hesiod, Theogony 313 ff (trans.

Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.) : "And third again she [Ekhidna (Echidna)] bore the grisly-minded Lernaian (Lernaean) Hydra, whom the goddess white-armed Hera nourished because of her quenchless grudge against the strong Herakles (Heracles). Yet he, Herakles, son of Zeus, of the line of Amphitryon, by design of Athene the spoiler and with help form warlike Iolaos, killed this beast with the pitiless bronze sword." Alcaeus, Fragment 443 (from Schoiast on Hesiod's Theogony) (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric II) (Greek lyric C6th B.C.) : "The Hydra is called nine-headed by Alcaeus, fifty-headed by Simonides." Simonides, Fragment 569 (from Servius on Virgil's Aeneid) (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric II) (Greek lyric C6th to 5th B.C.) : "One hundred snakes as in Simonides, as we said above [i.e.

Simonides' fifty-headed Hydra]; others say there were nine." Aeschylus, Fragment 55 Leon (from Stephen of Byzantium, Lexicon 699. 13) (trans. Weir Smyth) (Greek tragedy C5th B.C.) : "The bane of wayfarers, the drakon (serpent) that haunts the place." [N.B. Perhaps a reference to the Hydra of Lerna.] Plato, Euthydemus 297c (trans. Lamb) (Greek philosopher C4th B.C.) : "[Plato uses the myth of the Hydra as a metaphor for argument :] Herakles (Heracles), who was no match for the Hydra . . . who was so clever that she sent forth many heads . . . in place of each one that was cut off; . . . [and a] crab . . . from the sea--freshly, I fancy, arrived on shore; and, when the hero was so bothered with its leftward barks and bites, he summoned his nephew Iolaus to the rescue, and he brought him effective relief." Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2.

77 - 80 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "For his second labour Herakles was instructed to slay the Lernaian (Lernaean) Hydra. The beast was nurtured in the marshes of Lerna, from where she would go out onto the flatland to raid flocks and ruin the land. The Hydra was of enormous size, with eight mortal heads, and a ninth one in the middle that was immortal. With Iolaos (Iolaus) driving, Herakles rode a chariot to Lerna, and there, stopping the horses, he found the Hydra on a ridge beside the springs of Amymone where she nested. By throwing flaming spears at her he forced her to emerge, and as she did he was able to catch hold. But she hung on to him by wrapping herself round one of his feet, and he was unable to help matters by striking her with his club, for as soon as one head was pounded off two others would grow in its place. Then a giant crab came along to help the Hydra, and bit Herakles on the foot.

For this he killed the crab, and called on his own behalf to Iolaos for help. Iolaos made some torches by setting fire to a portion of the adjoining woods, and, by using these to burn the buddings of the heads, he kept them from growing. When he had overcome this problem, Herakles lopped off the immortal head, which he buried and covered with a heavy boulder at the side of the road that runs through Lerna to Elaios (Elaeus). He cut up the Hydra's body and dipped his arrows in its venom." Heracles, Iolaus and the Hydra, Paestan black-figure hydra C6th B.C., The J. Paul Getty Museum Strabo, Geography 8. 6. 2 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "The river Lerna, as it is called, bearing the same name as the marsh in which is laid the scene of the myth of the Hydra." Strabo, Geography 8. 6.

6 : "Lake Lerna, the scene of the story of the Hydra, lies in Argeia and the Mykenean (Mycenean) territory." Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 37. 4 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : ”At the source of the Amymone [near Lerna, Argolis] grows a plane tree, beneath which, they say, the Hydra (Water-snake) grew. I am ready to believe that this beast was superior in size to other water-snakes, and that its poison had something in it so deadly that Herakles treated the points of his arrows with its gall. It had, however, in my opinion, one head and not several. It was Peisander of Kamiros (Camirus) who, in order that the beat might appear more frightful and his poetry might be more remarkable, represented the Hydra with its many heads." Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 18.

10 - 16 : "[Amongst the images depicted on the throne of Apollon at Amyklai (Amyclae) near Sparta :] On the left stand Ekhidna (Echidna) and Typhos [Typhoeus], on the right Tritones . . . Next to these have been wrought two of the exploits of Herakles--his slaying of the Hydra, and his bringing up the Hound of Hell (kuna ton Haidou) [Kerberos (Cerberus)]." Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 17. 11 : "[Amongst the scenes depicted on the chest of Kypselos (Cypselus) dedicated at Olympia :] Heracles, with Athena standing beside him, is shooting at the Hydra, the beast in the river Amymone." Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 26. 7 : "[Amongst the offerings dedicated at Olympia :] By the smaller offerings of Mikythos (Micythus) . . .

are some of the exploits of Herakles, including what he did to the Nemeian Lion (Leonta Nemea), the Hydra, the Hound of Hell [Kerberos (Cerberus)], and the boar by the river Erymanthos." Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 11. 5 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) : "The second Labour which he [Herakles] undertook was the slaying of the Lernaian (Lernaean) Hydra, springing from whose single body were fashioned a hundred necks, each bearing the head of a serpent. And when one head was cut off, the place where it was severed put forth two others; for this reason it was considered to be invincible, and with good reason, since the part of it which was subdued sent forth a two-fold assistance in its place. Against a thing so difficult to manage as this Herakles devised an ingenious scheme and commanded Iolaos (Iolaus) to sear with a burning brand the part which had been severed, in order to check the flow of the blood.

So when he had subdued the animal by this means he dipped the heads of his arrows in the venom, in order that when the missile should be shot the wound which the point made might be incurable." Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 6. 212 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic C4th A.D.) : "[Amongst the scenes depicted on the shield of Eurypylos (Eurypylus), son of Herakles :] Thereby was wrought the Hydra many-necked flickering its dread tongues. Of its fearful heads some severed lay on earth, but many more were budding from its necks, while Herakles and Iolaos (Iolaus), dauntless-hearted twain, toiled hard; the one with lightning sickle-sweeps lopped the fierce heads, his fellow seared each neck With glowing iron; the monster so was slain." Aelian, On Animals 9. 23 (trans.

Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.) : "Hekataios (Hecataeus) the chronicler [Greek C4th B.C.], may sing, of the Hydra of Lerna, one of the Labours of Herakles." Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History Book 2 (summary from Photius, Myriobiblon 190) (trans. Pearse) (Greek mythographer C1st to C2nd A.D.) : "Aristonikos (Aristonicus) of Tarenton (Tarentum) says that the middle head of the Hydra was of gold." Pseudo-Hyginus, Preface (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "From Typhon and Echidna [were born] : . . . Hydra serpent which had nine heads which Hercules killed, and the Hesperian Dragon (Draco Hesperidum)." Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 30 : "He [Herakles] killed at the spring of Lerna the nine headed Lernaean Hydra, offspring of Typhon.

This monster was so poisonous that she killed men with her breath, and if anyone passed by when she was sleeping, he breathed her tracks and died in greatest torment. Under Minerva's [Athene's] instructions he killed her, disembowelled her, and dipped his arrows in her gall; and so whatever later he hit with his arrows did not escape death, and later he himself perished in Phrygia from the same cause." Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 151 : "From Typhon the giant and Echidna were born . . . the Hydra which Hercules killed by the spring of Lerna." Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 23 : "The Crab is said to have been put among the stars by the favour of Juno [Hera], because, when Hercules had stood firm against the Lernaean Hydra, it had snapped at his foot from the swamp.

Hercules, enraged at this, had killed it, and Juno [Hera] put it among the constellations." Heracles, Athena, Iolaus and the Hydra, Athenian black-figure lekythos C5th B.C., Musée du Louvre Ovid, Metamorphoses 9. 69 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "[Herakles addresses the shape-shifting river-god Akhelous (Achelous) :] ‘Mastering Dracones (Dragons) is child's play, Achelous! Yes, if you were champion serpent, how could you compare with Echidna Lernaea [the Hydra], you a single snake? It throve on wounds: of all its hundred heads I cut off one but from its neck two more sprang to succeed it, stronger than before! Yes, though it branched with serpents sprung from death, and multiplied on doom, I mastered it, and, mastered, I dispatched it.’" Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.

192 ff : "The Hydra's gain from loss, with doubled strength, was all in vain [i.e. against the might of Herakles]." Ovid, Heroides 9. 87 ff (trans. Showerman) (Roman poetry C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "[Herakles] told of the deeds . . . The fertile serpent that sprang forth again from the fruitful wound, grown rich from her own hurt." Virgil, Aeneid 6. 803 ff (trans. Day-Lewis) (Roman epic C1st B.C.) : "[Herakles] subdued Lerana with the terror of his bow." Seneca, Hercules Furens 220 ff (trans.

Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.) : "[The infant Herakles killed two serpents] crushing their swollen throats with his baby hands, he practised for the Hydra." Seneca, Hercules Furens 241 ff : "[The labours of Herakles :] Lerna's fell monster, pest manifold, did he not quell at last by fire and teach to die?" Seneca, Hercules Furens 526 ff : "Let Alcmena's son [Herakles] in endless wars employ on monsters the hand that bore the heavens; let him cut off the Hydra's teeming necks.” Seneca, Medea 700 ff : "[The witch Medea casts a spell to summon poisonous snakes invoking the names of the greatest of the Drakones (Dragons) :] ‘In answer to my incantations let Python come . . . Let Hydra return and every serpent cut off by the hand of Hercules, restoring itself by its own destruction. Thou, too, ever-watchful dragon [of the Golden Fleece].’" Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 7. 623 ff (trans.

Mozley) (Roman epic C1st A.D.) : "The Tirynthian [Herakles] wearied in fight against the Hydra's dreadful hosts turned to the fires of Pallas [Athena who suggested to the hero this means of destroying the creature]." Statius, Thebaid 2. 375 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic C1st A.D.) : "The marsh of Lerna and the burnt Hydra's heat makes warm the depths of those unrighteous waters." Statius, Thebaid 4. 168 ff : "[Depicted on the shield of the Argive warrior Kapaneus (Capaneus) :] There lies the Hydra with triple-branching crown, lately slain and foul in death: part, embossed in silver, glitters fierce with moving snakes, part by a cunning device is sunken, and grows dark in death agony against the tawny gold; around, in dark-blue steel runs the torpid stream of Lerna." Nonnus, Dionysiaca 25. 196 ff (trans.

Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) : "[Herakles] took all that trouble to liberate some little snaky brook like Lerna, by cutting down the selfgrowing firstfruits of the lurking serpent [the Hydra], as that plentiful crop of snakeheads grew spiking up. If only he had done the killing alone! Instead of calling in his distress for Iolaos (Iolaus), to destroy the heads as they grew afresh, by lifting a burning torch; until the two together managed to get the better of one female serpent . . . cutting down a bush of heads which ever grew again on so many necks." Suidas s.v. Hydran temnein (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.) : "Hydran temnein (you are cutting off a hydra) : Said of things that are hopeless; for the story goes that when Herakles was fighting a Hydra in Lerna which had a hundred heads, and as the heads were cut off more grew, he ordered Iolaos (Iolaus) to burn the cut ones." Suidas s.v.

Hydra : Heracles and the Lernaean Hydra, Greco-Roman mosaic C3rd A.D., National Archaeological Museum of Spain Alcman, Fragment 815 Geryoneis (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric III) (Greek lyric C7th B.C.) : "[Herakles slays Geryon with an arrow coated with Hydra-venom :] (Bringing) the end that is hateful (death), having (doom) on its head, befouled with blood and with . . ((lacuna)) gall, the anguish of the dapple-necked Hydra, destroyer of men [i.e. his arrow was poisoned with the blood and gall of the Hydra]; and Geryon drooped his neck to one side" Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 80 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "He [Herakles] cut up the Hydra's body and dipped his arrows in its venom." Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2.

157 : "In fear lest Herakles desire Iole more than herself [Deianeira], and in her belief that the blood of Nessos [i.e. the kentauros (centaur) slain by Herakles with an arrow coated in Hydra-venom] was truly a love-potion, she doused the robe with it. Herakles put it on and started the sacrifice, but soon the robe grew warm as the Hydra's venom began to cook his flesh. He caught up Likhas (Lichas) by the foot and hurled him into the Euboian sea, then tore off the robe, which stuck to his body so that he ripped off his flesh along with hit." Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4. 1390 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.) : "The snake [the Drakon (Dragon) of the Hesperides], struck down by Herakles, lay by the trunk of the apple-tree. Only the tip of his tail was still twitching; from the head down, his dark spine showed not a sign of life.

His blood had been poisoned by arrows steeped in the gall of the Lernaian (Lernaean) Hydra, and flies perished in the festering wounds." Strabo, Geography 8. 3. 19 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "It [the Anigros River of Elis] emits an offensive odor for a distance of twenty stadia, and makes the fish unfit to eat. In the mythical accounts, however, this is attributed by some writers to the fact that certain of the Kentauroi (Centaurs) here washed off the poison they got from the Hydra [after their battle with Herakles] . . . The bathing-water from here cures leprosy, elephantiasis, and scabies." Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 5. 9 (trans.

Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : "Some Greeks say that Khiron (Chiron), other that Pylenor another Kentauros (Centaur), when shot by Herakles fled wounded to this river [Anigros in Elis] and washed his hurt in it, and that it was the Hydra's poison which gave the Anigros its nasty smell." Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 38. 1 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) : "Herakles put on the shirt which had been anointed [by his wife Deianeira with Nessos' Hydra-venom tainted blood], and as the strength of the toxic drug began slowly to work he met with the most terrible calamity. For the arrow's barb had carried the poison of the adder [Hydra], and when the shirt for this reason, as it became heated, attacked the flesh of the body." Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 9. 392 ff (trans.

Way) (Greek epic C4th A.D.) : "Beside his [Philoktetes (Philoctetes)] stony bed lay a long quiver full of arrows, some for hunting, some to smite his foes withal; with deadly venom of that fell water-snake [Hydra] were these besmeared. Before it, nigh to his hand, lay the great bow, with curving tips of horn, wrought by the mighty hands of Herakles." Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 30 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "Under Minerva's [Athene's] instructions he [Herakles] killed her [Hydra], disembowelled her, and dipped his arrows in her gall; and so whatever later he hit with his arrows did not escape death, and later he himself perished in Phrygia from the same cause." Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 34 : "[Herakles] pierced Nessus with his arrows.

As he died, Nessus, knowing how poisonous the arrows were, since they had been dipped in the gall of the Lernaean Hydra, drew out some of his blood and gave it to Dejanira (Deianeira), telling her it was a love-charm. If she wanted her husband not to desert her, she should have his garments smneared with this blood. Dejanira, believing him, kept it carefully preserved." Ovid, Metamorphoses 9. 129 & 158 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "An arrow flew [from the bow of Herakles] and pierced the fleeing centaur's [Nessos'] back: out from his breast the barbed point stuck. He wrenched the shaft away, and blood from both wounds spurted, blood that bore Lernaei's [the Lernaean Hydra's] poison. Nessus caught it up. ‘I'll not die unavenged’, he thought and gave his shirt soaked in warm gore to Deianira, a talisman, he said, to kindle love.' . . .

[Herakles' wife Deianeira hears rumours that her husband is planning to marry Iole :] She chose to send the shirt imbued with Nessus' blood to fortify her husband's failing love. Not knowing what she gave, she entrusted her sorrow to Lichas (ignorant no less) and charged him with soft words to take it to her lord. And Hercules receiving the gift and on his shoulders wore, in ignorance, Echidna Lernaea's [the Hydra's] poisoned gore. The flame was lit; he offered words of prayer and incense, pouring on the marble altar wine from the bowl. That deadly force grew warm. Freed by the flame, it seeped and stole along, spreading through all the limbs of Hercules. While he still could, that hero's heart of his stifled his groans, but when the agony triumphed beyond endurance, he threw down the altar, and his cries of anguish filled the glades of Oeta.

Desperately he tried to tear the fatal shirt away; each tear tore his skin too, and, loathsome to relate, either it stuck, defeating his attempts to free it from his flesh, or else laid bare his lacerated muscles and huge bones. Why, as the poison burned, his very blood bubbled and hissed as when a white-hot blade is quenched in icy water. Never an end! The flames licked inwards, greedy for his guts; dark perspiration streamed from every pore; his scorching sinews crackled; the blind rot melted his marrow . . . In wounded agony he roamed the heights of Oeta [and died to escape the pain in the flames of a funeral pyre]." Ovid, Heroides 9. 115 ff (trans. Showerman) (Roman poetry C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "The darts [of Herakles] blackened with the venom of Lerna." Seneca, Hercules Furens 44 (trans.

Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.) : "Why, he [Herakles] bears as weapons what he once fought and overcame; he goes armed by lion [i.e. the skin of the Nemeian lion] and by Hydra [i.e. his arrows dipped in its venom]." Seneca, Hercules Furens 1194 ff : "[Herakles' mourns his young sons who he slew in a fit of madness with venom-tainted arrows :] ‘What of that shaft, still dripping with the blood of boys? It has been dipped in Hydra's gore--ah, now my own weapons do I recognize. No need to ask the hand that used them! Who could have bent the bow or what hand drawn the string which scarce yields to me?’" HYDRA GUARDIAN OF THE UNDERWORLD Virgil, Aeneid 6. 287 ff (trans.

Fairclough) (Roman epic C1st B.C.) : "Many monstrous forms besides of various beasts are stalled at the doors [of Haides], Centauri (Centaurs) and double-shaped Scyllae, and the hundredfold Briareus, and the beast of Lerna [the Hydra], hissing horribly, and the Chimaera armed with flame, Gorgones and Harpyiae (Harpies), and the shape of the three-bodied shade [Geryon]." Seneca, Hercules Furens 776 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.) : "The craft [of Kharon (Charon)], ample for whole nations, sinks low beneath one man [Herakles, journeying to Haides] . . . Then the [shades of the] monsters he had conquered are in a panic, the fierce Centaurs and the Lapithae whom too much wine had inflamed to war; and, seeking the farthest fens of the Stygian swamp, Lerna's labour [i.e. the Hydra] plunges deep his fertile heads." Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 3. 224 (trans.

Mozley) (Roman epic C1st A.D.) : "[The Titan] Coeus in the lowest pit [of Tartaros] burst the adamantine bonds and trailing Jove's [Zeus'[ fettering chains . . . conceives a hope of scaling heaven, yet though he repass the rivers and the gloom the hound of the Furiai [Kerberos (Cerberus)] and the sprawling Hydra's crest [a second guardian of the underworld] repel him." Statius, Silvae 2. 1. 228 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman poetry C1st A.D.) : "Neither the ferryman [Kharon (Charon)] nor the comrade [the Hydra] of the cruel beast [Kerberos (Cerberus)] bars the way [to the Underworld] to innocent souls." Statius, Silvae 5. 3. 260 ff : "But do ye, O monarchs of the dead and thou, Ennean Juno [Persephone], if ye approve my prayer [provide a peaceful journey for the soul of my dead father] . . .

let the warder of the gate [Kerberos (Cerberus)] make no fierce barking, let distant vales conceal the Centauri (Centaurs) and Hydra's multitude and Scylla's monstrous horde [i.e. fearsome monsters whose shades were established as guardians of the underworld]." POETIC EPITHETS Lerna Lerna See More Lerna Pictures > Lerna was a region in the Peloponnese in Greece, which was the backdrop for one of the Labours of Heracles in Greek mythology. It was the place where one of the best known mythical monsters dwelled, the Lernaean Hydra . It was a water snake that had nine heads; eight of them were mortal, but as soon as one was cut off, two more would appear. The ninth head was immortal and could not be slain by normal means. Slaying the Lernaean Hydra was the second labour that King Eurystheus gave to Heracles , as was demanded by the goddess Hera . Lerna was a region that had lots of springs and swamps, and was also one of the entrances to the Underworld.

In this area, the Lernaean Mysteries were held as a tribute to the goddess of nature, Demeter . It was also here that the god Poseidon slept with Amymone, daughter of Danaus, to whom he revealed the secret of the Lernaean lake. Hercules' Second Labor: the Lernean Hydra The Lernean Hydra The second labor of Hercules was to kill the Lernean Hydra. From the murky waters of the swamps near a place called Lerna, the hydra would rise up and terrorize the countryside. A monstrous serpent with nine heads, the hydra attacked with poisonous venom. Nor was this beast easy prey, for one of the nine heads was immortal and therefore indestructible. Lerna Aerial view of site and bay, from E Photograph by Raymond V. Schoder, S.J., courtesy of Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers Hercules set off to hunt the nine-headed menace, but he did not go alone. His trusty nephew, Iolaus, was by his side. Iolaus, who shared many adventures with Hercules, accompanied him on many of the twelve labors.

Legend has it that Iolaus won a victory in chariot racing at the Olympics and he is often depicted as Hercules' charioteer. So, the pair drove to Lerna and by the springs of Amymone, they discovered the lair of the loathsome hydra. Munich 1416, Attic black figure amphora, ca. 510-500 B.C. Side A: scene at left, Hercules and Iolaos in chariot Photograph copyright Staatl. Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, München First, Hercules lured the coily creature from the safety of its den by shooting flaming arrows at it. Once the hydra emerged, Hercules seized it. The monster was not so easily overcome, though, for it wound one of its coils around Hercules' foot and made it impossible for the hero to escape. With his club, Hercules attacked the many heads of the hydra, but as soon as he smashed one head, two more would burst forth in its place! To make matters worse, the hydra had a friend of its own: a huge crab began biting the trapped foot of Hercules.

Quickly disposing of this nuisance, most likely with a swift bash of his club, Hercules called on Iolaus to help him out of this tricky situation. Each time Hercules bashed one of the hydra's heads, Iolaus held a torch to the headless tendons of the neck. The flames prevented the growth of replacement heads, and finally, Hercules had the better of the beast. Once he had removed and destroyed the eight mortal heads, Hercules chopped off the ninth, immortal head. This he buried at the side of the road leading from Lerna to Elaeus, and for good measure, he covered it with a heavy rock. As for the rest of the hapless hydra, Hercules slit open the corpse and dipped his arrows in the venomous blood. Malibu 83.AE.346, Caeretan hydria, c. 525 B.C. Main panel: Hercules slaying the Lernean hydra Collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California Eurystheus was not impressed with Hercules' feat, however. He said that since Iolaus had helped his uncle, this labor should not count as one of the ten.

This technicality didn't seem to matter much to anyone else: the ancient authors still give Hercules all of the credit. Even so, Pausanias did not think that this labor was as fantastic as the myths made it out to be: to him, the fearsome hydra was just, well, a big water snake. At the source of the Amymone grows a plane tree, beneath which, they say, the hydra (water-snake) grew. I am ready to believe that this beast was superior in size to other water-snakes, and that its poison had something in it so deadly that Heracles treated the points of his arrows with its gall. It had, however, in my opinion, one head, and not several. It was Peisander of Camirus who, in order that the beast might appear more frightful and his poetry might be more remarkable, represented the hydra with its many heads.

Pausanias, Description of Greece, 2.37.4 (lmc) Lernaean Hydra | Mythology Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Greek Mythology Wiki : Hydra The Hydra (also known as the Lernaean Hydra) was a Greek mythological serpent with any number of heads (usually nine, as it was known to possess). Each time a head was cut off, two new heads regenerated in its place immediately. The middle and dominant Hydra head (the front and biggest) was immortal and breathed fire. This giant serpent's other heads possessed poisonous breath in addition to poisonous and acidic blood. Its lair was in the lake of Lerna in the Argolid. Beneath the lake was an entrance to the Underworld , which the Hydra guarded. The Hydra was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna . It was slain by Hercules and his nephew Iolaus . It is usually depicted as being from anywhere between 7 and 25 metres long and being around 6 to 13 metres tall. This is not correct or incorrect as the hydra is fought at different stages of its life depending on the version of the legend.

The Hydra is often referred to as a girl in myth which would mean that it is the younger sister of Orthrus and Cerberus which are both male. This also might mean that it is the older sister of the chimera, Sphinx, Nemean Lion, Caucasian eagle, Ladon and the Crommyonian Sow. It was said to have been born in the swamps of Lerna which is also where it would be killed by Heracles. Contents Edit Hercules was sent by king Eurystheus to kill the Hydra as part of his second labour because the Lernean Hydra was terrorising Lerna by attacking its towns and killing flocks of sheep and cattle. He took along his nephew Iolaus. When he reached Lerna, he covered his nose and mouth with a cloth to protect himself from the stench. He shot a flaming arrow into its cave where it hissed in anger, came out and started fighting him. However, he had trouble dealing with the Hydra when he realized that two heads regenerated whenever he sliced off one head. He told Iolaus to burn the stumps with his torch whenever he cut one of its heads off in order to prevent the heads regrowing.

When Hera saw Hercules was winning, she sent down a huge crab called Korkinos to attack him by pinching his foot which he then crushed under his mighty foot. He received a golden sword from Athena , which he used to kill the immortal head. He then took the the immortal head and buried it next to the side of the road and placed a boulder onto the ground where the still writhing head of the Hydra was buried. He then went back to the body and dipped his arrows in its poisonous blood, which he used in his later quests. Both the crab and the Hydra were placed in the sky as the constellations Cancer and Hydra , respectively. The hydra In modern artwork The hydra has alternating numbers of heads and limbs. Trivia Edit The hydra is actually one of the labours of Heracles that didn't count since he had aid from his nephew Iolaus so King Eurystheus decreed that he do another hence making the ''12'' labours of Heracles. The hydra does not actually have a set number of heads since the hydra had too many heads for the vase painters to paint so they always gave it between 3 and 20 heads.

Under normal conditions the hydra never has less than 3 heads. The hydra is usually depicted as having either two arms and no legs, two arms and two legs or no arms or legs at all when the hydra actually starts off with having no legs then it develops two arms then two legs. So all of these depictions are partially correct. There are usually 2 kinds of hydra. The serpentine, aquatic hydra with fins on its head and usually no legs was the lernean hydra which Heracles fought. The other is the terrestrial hydra which is the one with 4 legs and horns and spikes which is usually in other tales. Both of these hydra's could have any number of heads and does not have a set amount. In Popular Culture Tyrune, a 3-headed dragon from Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog, is considered a hydra, and the rival dragon of Pyre, the Dragon of Dare.

Images Hydra | Greek mythology | Britannica.com Greek mythology Alternative Title: the Lernean Hydra Related Topics Odin Hydra, also called the Lernean Hydra, in Greek legend , the offspring of Typhon and Echidna (according to the early Greek poet Hesiod ’s Theogony), a gigantic water-snake-like monster with nine heads (the number varies), one of which was immortal. The monster’s haunt was the marshes of Lerna, near Árgos , from which he periodically emerged to harry the people and livestock of Lerna. Anyone who attempted to behead the Hydra found that as soon as one head was cut off, two more heads would emerge from the fresh wound. Heracles (Hercules) battling the Lernaean Hydra; at the southern entrance to the Hofburg (Imperial … © v0v/Fotolia The destruction of the Lernean Hydra became one of the 12 Labours of Heracles . For that and other labours, Heracles enlisted the aid of his nephew Iolaus . As Heracles severed each mortal head, Iolaus was set to the task of cauterizing the fresh wounds so that no new heads would emerge.

When only the immortal head remained, Heracles cut it off too and buried it under a heavy rock. Further, he dipped his arrows in the beast’s poisonous blood (or venom) to be able to inflict fatal wounds. According to Sophocles ( Trachinian Women ), that measure eventually caused his own accidental death at the hands of his wife, Deianeira. In modern English, hydra or hydra-headed can describe a difficult or multifarious situation. The name hydra has been assigned to a genus of invertebrate freshwater animals having a circlet of 4 to 25 tentacles on one end of its tubelike body. Learn More in these related articles: Hydra Hydra by Ron Leadbetter The Hydra which lived in the swamps near to the ancient city of Lerna in Argolis, was a terrifying monster which like the Nemean lion was the offspring of Echidna (half maiden - half serpent), and Typhon (had 100 heads), other versions think that the Hydra was the offspring of Styx and the Titan Pallas .

The Hydra had the body of a serpent and many heads (the number of heads deviates from five up to one hundred there are many versions but generally nine is accepted as standard), of which one could never be harmed by any weapon, and if any of the other heads were severed another would grow in its place (in some versions two would grow). Also the stench from the Hydra's breath was enough to kill man or beast (in other versions it was a deadly venom). When it emerged from the swamp it would attack herds of cattle and local villagers, devouring them with its numerous heads. It totally terrorized the vicinity for many years. Heracles journeyed to Lake Lerna in a speedy chariot, and with him he took his nephew and charioteer Iolaus, in search of the dreaded Hydra. When they finally reached the Hydras' hiding place, Heracles told Iolaus to stay with the horses while he drew the monster from its hole with flaming arrows. This brought out the hideous beast. Heracles courageously attacked the beast, flaying at each head with his sword, (in some versions a scythe) but he soon realized that as one head was severed another grew in its place.

Heracles called for help from Iolaus, telling him to bring a flaming torch, and as Heracles cut off the heads one by one from the Hydra, Iolaus cauterized the open wounds with the torch preventing them from growing again. As Heracles fought the writhing monster he was almost stifled by its obnoxious breath, but eventually, with the help of Iolaus, Heracles removed all but one of the Hydras' heads. The one remaining could not be harmed by any weapon, so, picking up his hefty club Heracles crushed it with one mighty blow, he then tore off the head with his bare hands and quickly buried it deep in the ground, placing a huge boulder on the top. After he had killed the Hydra, Heracles dipped the tips of his arrows into the Hydras' blood, which was extremely poisonous, making them deadly. Other versions say that while Heracles fought the Hydra the goddess Hera sent down a giant crab which attacked his feet). This legend comes from a marble relief dating from the 2nd century BCE found at ancient Lerna, showing Heracles attacking the Hydra, and near his feet is a huge crab.

Also other legends say that a stray arrow set alight the forest, and it was the burning trunks which Heracles ripped up and used to cauterize the open wounds. Article details: Lernaean Hydra | Myths of the World Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Myths of the World Wiki Share Ad blocker interference detected! Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected. File:Henry IV en Herculeus terrassant l Hydre de Lerne cad La ligue Catholique Atelier Toussaint Dubreuil circa 1600.jpg In Greek mythology , the Lernaean Hydra ( Greek : Template:Audio ) was an ancient nameless serpent -like chthonic water beast (as its name evinces) that possessed nine heads — and for each head cut off it grew two more — and poisonous breath so virulent even her tracks were deadly. [1] The Hydra of Lerna was killed by Heracles as one of his Twelve Labours .

Its lair was the lake of Lerna in the Argolid , though archaeology has borne out the myth that the sacred site was older even than the Mycenaean city of Argos since Lerna was the site of the myth of the Danaids . Beneath the waters was an entrance to the Underworld , and the Hydra was its guardian. [2] The Hydra was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna ( Theogony , 313), both of whom were noisome offspring of the earth goddess Gaia . [3] Contents Edit After slaying the Nemean lion , Eurystheus sent Heracles to slay the Hydra, which Hera had raised just to slay Heracles. Upon reaching the swamp near Lake Lerna , where the Hydra dwelt, Heracles covered his mouth and nose with a cloth to protect himself from the poisonous fumes. He fired flaming arrows into its lair, the spring of Amymone , a deep cave that it only came out of to terrorize neighboring villages. [4] He then confronted it, wielding a harvesting sickle (according to some early vase-paintings), a sword or his famed club.

Ruck and Staples (1994: 170) have pointed out that the chthonic creature's reaction was botanical: upon cutting off each of its heads he found that two grew back, an expression of the hopelessness of such a struggle for any but the hero , Hercules. The weakness of the Hydra was that only one of its heads was immortal. File:Antonio Pollaiuolo 002.jpg The details of the struggle are explicit in Apollodorus (2.5.2): realizing that he could not defeat the Hydra in this way, Heracles called on his nephew Iolaus for help. His nephew then came upon the idea (possibly inspired by Athena ) of using a blazing firebrand to scorch the neck stumps after each decapitation. Heracles cut off each head and Iolaus cauterized the open stumps. Seeing that Heracles was winning the struggle, Hera sent a large crab to distract him. He crushed it under his mighty foot. Its one immortal head was cut off with a golden sword given to him by Athena.

Heracles placed under a great rock on the sacred way between Lerna and Elaius (Kerenyi 1959:144), and dipped his arrows in the Hydra's poisonous blood, and so his second task was complete. The alternative version of this myth is that after cutting off one head he then dipped his sword in it and used its venom to burn each head so it couldn't grow back. Hera, upset that Heracles slew the beast she raised to kill him, placed it in the dark blue vault of the sky as the Constellation Hydra . She then turned the crab into the Constellation Cancer . After Heracles sent word that the creature was dead, Eurystheus said that the Labour did not count, as he had Iolaus help him by using a firebrand against the creature. After declaring that Heracles still had to do nine more Labours, Eurystheus sent him to capture the Ceryneian Hind alive. Heracles later used an arrow dipped in the Hydra's poisonous blood to kill the centaur Nessus ; and Nessus's tainted blood was applied to the Tunic of Nessus , by which the centaur had his posthumous revenge.

Both Strabo and Pausanias report that the stench of the river Anigrus in Elis, making all the fish of the river inedible, was reputed to be due to the Hydra's poison, washed from the arrows Hercules used on the centaur. [5] Lernaean Hydra | Dragons | Fandom powered by Wikia Share In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra (Greek: Λερναία Ὕδρα (help·info)) was an ancient nameless chthonic water beast, with singing traits, (as its name evinces) that possessed many heads (around a million)— the poets mention more heads than the vase-painters could paint, and for each head cut off it grew two more — and poisonous breath so virulent even her tracks were deadly.The Hydra of Lerna was killed by Heracles as the second of his Twelve Labours. Its lair was the lake of Lerna in the Argolid, though archaeology has borne out the myth that the sacred site was older even than the Mycenaean city of Argos since Lerna was the site of the myth of the Danaids.

Beneath the waters was an entrance to the Underworld, and the Hydra was its guardian.The Hydra was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna (Theogony, 313), both of whom were noisome offspring of the earth goddess Gaia.After slaying the Nemean lion, Eurystheus sent Heracles to slay the Hydra, which Hera had raised just to slay Heracles. Upon reaching the swamp near Lake Lerna, where the Hydra dwelt, Heracles covered his mouth and nose with a cloth to protect himself from the poisonous fumes. He fired flaming arrows into the Hydra's lair, the spring of Amymone, a deep cave that it only came out of to terrorize neighboring villages.[4] He then confronted the Hydra, wielding a harvesting sickle (according to some early vase-paintings), a sword or his famed club. Ruck and Staples (1994: 170) have pointed out that the chthonic creature's reaction was botanical: upon cutting off each of its heads he found that two grew back, an expression of the hopelessness of such a struggle for any but the hero.

The weakness of the Hydra was that only one of its heads was immortal. The details of the struggle are explicit in the Bibliotheca (2.5.2): realizing that he could not defeat the Hydra in this way, Heracles called on his nephew Iolaus for help. His nephew then came upon the idea (possibly inspired by Athena) of using a firebrand to scorch the neck stumps after each decapitation. Heracles cut off each head and Iolaus cauterized the open stumps. Seeing that Heracles was winning the struggle, Hera sent a large crab to distract him. He crushed it under his mighty foot. The Hydra's one immortal head was cut off with a golden sword The hydra as seen in Disney's Hercules given to him by Athena. Heracles placed it under a great rock on the sacred way between Lerna and Elaius (Kerenyi 1959:144), and dipped his arrows in the Hydra's poisonous blood, and so his second task was complete. The alternative version of this myth is that after cutting off one head he then dipped his sword in it and used its venom to burn each head so it couldn't grow back.

Hera, upset that Heracles slew the beast she raised to kill him, placed it in the dark blue vault of the sky as the Constellation Hydra. She then turned the crab into the Constellation Cancer.Heracles later used an arrow dipped in the Hydra's poisonous blood to kill the centaur Nessus; and Nessus's tainted blood was applied to the Tunic of Nessus, by which the centaur had his posthumous revenge. Both Strabo and Pausanias report that the stench of the river Anigrus in Elis, making all the fish of the river inedible, was reputed to be due to the Hydra's poison, washed from the arrows Heracles used on the centaur.[5]When Eurystheus, the agent of ancient Hera who was assigning The Twelve Labors to Heracles, found out that it was Heracles' nephew Iolaus who had handed him the firebrand, he declared that the labor had not been completed alone and as a result did not count towards the ten labours set for him. The mythic element is an equivocating attempt to resolve the submerged conflict between an ancient ten Labours and a more recent twelve. MLP Hydra

Question: In Greek mythology who slayed the Hydra of Lerna?
Answer: Heracles