The Legend of Hercules and the Hydra of Lerna
The Great Greek Hero Must Kill a Multi-headed Monster
Nov 5, 2009
One of the greatest Greek heroes of myth and legend, Hercules (also spelled Heracles or Herakles) was the mortal son of Zeus. To atone for the accidental slaughter of his family, he had to do 12 tasks for Eurystheus, King of Tiryns. Killing the monstrous Hydra of Lerna was his second task.
Origin of the Hydra of Lerna
The hydra was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, two Greek demigods descended from the Titans. Typhon was a colossal monster who once even challenged Zeus himself: he had a massive human torso, his arms ended in dragon heads and his lower body was that of a great serpent. Echidna had the upper body of a beautiful nymph and the lower body of a huge snake. Typhon and Echidna had other children including Cerberus (the guardian of Hades) and the Nemean Lion.
The region of Lerna was south of Argos: there was a lake there and springs believed to have healing powers. In a cave in the lake lived the Hydra, a monster with nine heads: according to some sources, it had the body of a dog, but many artists depict it as dragon or snake-like. The hydra would venture forth and terrorize local towns. Besides the danger of its many heads, it had poisonous blood and breath. If one of its heads were cut off, two more would grow in its place. One of the heads was immortal. Its cave was also an entrance to the Underworld: like its “brother” Cerberus, it guarded this entrance from mortals.
Hercules Battles the Hydra
Hercules was tasked with killing the hydra by Eurystheus, who assigned the 12 labors. Finding the hydra was easy and Hercules attacked it with his sword, wearing a rag over his mouth to protect him from the noxious fumes breathed out by the hydra. He soon found that cutting off the heads did no good, as they grew back double.
Hercules was accompanied by his nephew Iolaus, who served as his chariot driver. He told Iolaus to light a torch and burn the necks after he cut off each head, thus preventing them from growing back. Iolaus did so and the strategy worked. Finally, only the immortal head remained. Hercules cut it off, essentially killing the beast (although not the final head). He buried the head and placed a great boulder over the hole. Also, he dipped his arrows in the hydra’s blood once it was slain: he would later use one of these poisoned arrows to slay the Centaur Nessus.
Hercules Returns to Tiryns
When Hercules reported to Eurystheus, he found that the king would not give him credit for killing the hydra, as his task had been to do it alone and he had only succeeded with the help of Iolaus. His successful one-day cleaning of the Augean stables also didn’t count because he was paid for it, so Hercules eventually did 12 labors instead of the ten he had been supposed to do.
The battle between Hercules and the hydra is one of the greatest in all of Greek mythology. Hercules had many more adventures in addition to killing the Lernaean Hydra.
Sources:
Diodorus Sicilus: The Library of History
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