Herakles’ Second Labor: The Lernaian Hydra - I
Stem Amphora with lid. On the main frieze, Herakles killing the Lernaian Hydra with the aid of Iolaos. Athena and Hermes attend the fight. In lower position parade of animals. On the neck quadriga and draped bearded men holding a spear.
Hudra was a huge many-headed snake that lived in the swamps of Lerna some miles to the south of Argos. According to the Theogony, it was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, and it was reared by Hera to become a danger to Herakles. Hydra, which simply means water-snake, is not a proper name in Greek and does not necessarily carry any connotation of monstrosity.
As for the number of its heads, estimates vary from just a few to as many as fifty or a hundred. It was often said to have been exceptionally difficult to kill because as soon as one head was cut off, a new head, or more commonly two, would grow up in its place.
After travelling to Lerna in his chariot with Iolaos, Herakles engaged with this formidable adversary, but soon found himself in difficulties because its heads regrew as quickly as he cut them off (or knocked them off with his club). To make matters worse, Hera provided it with an ally by sending an enormous crab to bite Herakles on the foot. He managed to kill the crab, however, by crushing it underfoot, and now felt that he was justified in calling on the help of Iolaos as an ally of his own. So Iolaos prepared some firebrands, and whenever Herakles cut off one of the hydra’s heads, he would assist him by cauterizing the stump to prevent a new head (or heads) from growing. After removing its heads in this manner and killing it, Herakles dipped his arrows into its blood or gall, making them so poisonous from that time onward that the merest scratch would prove fatal.
Black figured amphora
Ca. 550 BC
From Eretria
Athens, National Archaeological Museum, inv. 12075
Herakles’ Second Labor: The Lernaian Hydra - I
Stem Amphora with lid. On the main frieze, Herakles killing the Lernaian Hydra with the aid of Iolaos. Athena and Hermes attend the fight. In lower position parade of animals. On the neck quadriga and draped bearded men holding a spear.
Hudra was a huge many-headed snake that lived in the swamps of Lerna some miles to the south of Argos. According to the Theogony, it was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, and it was reared by Hera to become a danger to Herakles. Hydra, which simply means water-snake, is not a proper name in Greek and does not necessarily carry any connotation of monstrosity.
As for the number of its heads, estimates vary from just a few to as many as fifty or a hundred. It was often said to have been exceptionally difficult to kill because as soon as one head was cut off, a new head, or more commonly two, would grow up in its place.
After travelling to Lerna in his chariot with Iolaos, Herakles engaged with this formidable adversary, but soon found himself in difficulties because its heads regrew as quickly as he cut them off (or knocked them off with his club). To make matters worse, Hera provided it with an ally by sending an enormous crab to bite Herakles on the foot. He managed to kill the crab, however, by crushing it underfoot, and now felt that he was justified in calling on the help of Iolaos as an ally of his own. So Iolaos prepared some firebrands, and whenever Herakles cut off one of the hydra’s heads, he would assist him by cauterizing the stump to prevent a new head (or heads) from growing. After removing its heads in this manner and killing it, Herakles dipped his arrows into its blood or gall, making them so poisonous from that time onward that the merest scratch would prove fatal.
Black figured amphora
Ca. 550 BC
From Eretria
Athens, National Archaeological Museum, inv. 12075