The dragon, or the serpent, has long since become a staple of the good vs evil trope. Frequently,
the creature is seen to be the aggressor in various stories - a beast which threatens both the
heroic character we are drawn to root for and the balance of life itself. The serpentine creature
usually resembles chaos, adversity or some metaphorical struggle that the hero must overcome
and whilst such stories can be seen from purely an entertainment standpoint,
to some, other virtues can be derived from these encounters. Thor fighting Jormungand,
for example, can be seen as representative of the ephemeral nature of life or the futile
effort to extend one’s impermanence. Archangel Michael fighting Lucifer on the other hand
can be seen as the triumph of good over evil and showcase the consequences of being too ambitious.
In today’s episode, we’ll be looking at a serpent that has fascinated the minds of the ancients and
the contemporary alike, for not only was it once believed to lurk beneath the waters,
but it also gave the hero Heracles quite the run for his money.
The ancient Greeks knew the beast as the Hydra, or the Lernaean Hydra - a
monstrous multi-headed creature that instilled fear into the hearts of men.
It was born to the ‘mother of monsters’ Echidna, a cunning half-woman and half-snake being herself,
who lived alone in a cave. Its father meanwhile was Typhon, the great and fearsome serpentine
monster that was arguably one of the most dangerous beasts throughout all of Greek
mythology. Already, we can see where the Hydra may have gotten its reputation from,
given that not only were both of its parents affiliated with reptilian attributes,
but they were also diabolical creatures themselves - those who even the gods were once cautious of.
It’s reasonable to believe that the Hydra may have been considered to be the ultimate combination
of these two evils, embodying Echidna’ horrid and flesh eating ways through its savagery, whilst
also showcasing Typhon’s immense appearance, by mirroring its father’s gigantic size and
multiple heads. The heads of the Hydra, much like Typhon, have also been a point of contention,
with writers and artists depicting him with as many as fifty heads and as few as three.
Greek poet Alcaeus of Mytilene described the Hydra as having nine heads, whilst Simonides,
another Greek poet, described the Hydra as having fifty.
In the most common iterations, the Hydra is seen to have nine heads, eight of which are slayable
and one of which is immortal - something we’ll see the hero Heracles come to learn the hard way.
The Lernaean Hydra was believed to have lurked in the swamps of Lerna, a region of springs
found on the coasts just south of Argos. How it earned its placement here is not known for sure,
though it is likely that after having been born to Echidna and Typhon, the beast was adopted by
Hera who had intended to use the terrible beast to destroy Heracles, he who was the bastard son
of Zeus from one of his many affairs. Hera, who was notoriously jealous over her husband’s flings
would often resent the spawns he would produce and not only took out her vengeance upon the
mothers of these children, but also the children themselves. By hiding the Hydra here in the swamps
of Lerna, it allowed for the creature to exist relatively undetected until the opportune moment
to strike against Heracles presented itself. Hesiod tells us in the Theogony “And third again
she bore the grisly-minded Lernaean Hydra, whom the goddess white-armed
Hera nourished because of her quenchless grudge against the strong Heracles.”
Another idea as to why the Hydra found its way to Lerna was because the region was also
an entrance to the Underworld and a place where one might traverse in their descent to Hades.
The Hydra could also therefore be seen as a guard to this particular entrance,
snatching up the ill-fated and the unwary and devouring them with its many maws. Furthermore,
the presence of this sunken monster was believed to have poisoned the otherwise freshwater, for
it was believed to have released toxic gasses from its mouths and contaminate Lerna’s many waterways.
Pseudo-Hyginus in the Fabulae tells us of these poisonous gasses
that “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.”
But the Hydra’s most notable legend comes from its battle with Heracles, a battle that you
might say it had been specifically groomed for by Hera. According to the mythology,
Heracles was undertaking his infamous 12 labours, where King Eurystheus had already set Heracles on
an impossible quest to kill the Nemean Lion. After having shocked the king with a surprise victory
over the lion, the king believed he had to raise the stakes and so, set Heracles upon yet another
‘impossible quest’ to hunt down the Hydra - that which is known as the second labour of Heracles.
Little did Heracles know however, that Hera had raised the Hydra with the intention of killing
him and so when Heracles made his way towards the swamps of Lerna, he did not realise he was
stepping foot into the midst of a beast that had been preparing for him since its birth.
We are told that Heracles used a cloth over his mouth to protect him from the poisonous
gases that the Hydra emitted, which would explain why he didn’t just drop dead upon his approach.
Upon finding the lair of the Hydra, that which was said to be a deep cave,
Heracles fired flaming arrows to draw the serpent out of its dwelling. Provoked by Heracles,
the Hydra charged out from its crevice and launched its relentless attack upon the hero.
But Heracles was not taken unawares and he fought back against the Hydra using several
weapons. In some instances, he was believed to use a sickle, and with his mighty strength
was able to cut the serpent’s heads, with no more struggle than a farmer might cut
his crops. In other versions, Heracles is seen to use either a sword or his club,
but in any case the outcome is the same - Heracles decapitates the heads of the beasts… only to find
that with each head he cuts, two more take its place. Despite his legendary speed and strength
and his famous prowess as a great warrior, every stroke of his weapon proved to be a futile affair.
Worse yet, the Hydra’s centre-most head was said to be immortal.
Unable to defeat the Hydra with a regular hack and slash approach,
Hercules called his nephew Iolaus to assist him. It was Iolaus who came up with a more strategic
approach and suggested that if they were to use a firebrand upon the stumps of the creature’s necks,
then they’d be able to cauterise the wound and prevent the heads from growing back.
With Heracles tearing heads left right and centre Iolaus was able to scorch the stumps and proved
his theory correct. With the Hydra’s heads now just flailing limbs and with Heracles now turning
the tide of the battle, Hera sent a giant crab to assist her serpentine pet. But the crab was easily
overcome, as we are told that Heracles quite literally crushed it under his foot. With just
one head left of the Hydra - this of course being the immortal one - Heracles drew forth a golden
sword he had earned from Athena - that which you can imagine was infused with divine magic. With
one last swing, Heracles decapitated the final head and with that, the flailing beast lay still.
In some versions, the beast’s immortal head was still conscious and whilst it had been
removed from its body, it still functioned. To solve this, Heracles was said to place the
head under a great rock, where it was essentially imprisoned and barred from causing any more harm.
Afterwards, Heracles decided to use the Hydra’s poisonous blood to his advantage and dipped his
own arrow heads into the substance to essentially create poisonous arrows. One slightly different
telling shows us that the Hydra’s heads were never cauterised by a firebrand, but that instead,
Heracles bathed his sword in the Hydra’s blood and used that to corrode the stump of each neck.
Enraged that Heracles was able to slay her beasts, Hera was said to have placed both the Hydra
and the giant crab into the vault of the sky, where both would become their own respective
constellations - Hydra and Cancer. As with many stories featuring dragons
and serpents, the hero is triumphant and with his victory comes a claim to glory.
Like many of the characters from ancient stories, the hero is measured by the monster he overcomes.
Heracles in this case earns yet another notch under his belt and this encounter would have
contributed to his ever growing fame at the time. The Hydra, a monster so feared and detested,
is slain by a mere man - or demigod, if you will and you can imagine that Heracles, given
his human heritage would become a model by which the ancient greeks (and even later audiences)
would aspire to be like. Given the frightful appearance by the Hydra, and its tremendous
presence amongst the other creatures in mythology, it can be said that it was one
of the instruments that defined Heralcles’ valour and heroics. Unfortunately for the serpent though,
it does fail it’s primary objective, but incidentally it’s legend lived on, helping
to inspire a plethora of serpentine monsters that would become commonplace in legend and fiction.
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Until next time!
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