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Lernaean hydra
*** Shopping-Tip: Lernaean hydra
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In
Greek mythology, the '''Lernaean Hydra''' was an ancient nameless
Serpent (symbolism) serpent-like
chthonic water beast that possessed
Multi-headed animal numerous heads—the poets mention more heads than the vase-painters could paint—and poisonous breath (
Hyginus, 30). The Hydra of Lerna was killed by
Heracles as one of his
The Twelve Labours 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, for 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 (Kerenyi 1959, p. 143).
The Hydra was the offspring of
Typhon and
Echidna (mythology) Echidna, noisome creatures of the Goddess, who became
Hera. It was said to be the sibling of the
Nemean Lion, yet another creature of the archaic Goddess, and thus seeking revenge for Heracles' slaying of it. As such, it was said to have been chosen as a task for Heracles so that Heracles would likely die.
Upon reaching the swamp near
Lerna Lake Lerna, where the Hydra dwelt, Heracles covered his mouth and nose with a cloth to protect himself from the poisonous fumes and fired flaming arrows into its lair, the spring of
Amymone, to draw it out. He then confronted it, wielding a harvesting
sickle in some early vase-paintings; Ruck and Staples (p. 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, Heracles.
The details of the confrontation are explicit in
Apollodorus (2.5.2): realising 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 burning firebrand to scorch the neck stumps after decapitation, and handed him the blazing brand. Heracles cut off each head and Iolaus burned the open stump leaving the hydra dead; its one immortal head Heracles placed under a great rock on the sacred way between Lerna and Elaius (Kerenyi1959 p 144), and dipped his arrows in the Hydra's poisonous blood, and so his second task was complete.
In an alternative version,
Hera's crab was at the site to bite his feet and bother him, hoping to cause his death. Hera set it in the
Zodiac to follow the
Leo Lion (
Eratosthenes, ''Catasterismi'')
When
Eurystheus, the agent of ancient
Hera who was assigning to Heracles
The Twelve Labours, found out that it was Heracles' nephew who had handed him the firebrand, he declared that the labour 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.
In another version {{fact}}, Heracles defeated the Hydra by remembering the words of his wise teacher,
Chiron, who had said, "We rise by kneeling; we conquer by surrendering; we gain by giving up." All his other weapons having failed, Heracles remembered his mentor's words and knelt down in the swamp and lifted up the monster by one of her heads into the light of day, where she began to wilt. Heracles then cut off each of her heads, dipping his arrows in the Hydra's poisonous blood at the same time. However, none re-grew. After he had severed all nine heads, a tenth one appeared; Heracles recognised this as a jewel and buried it under a rock.
Today "Hydra-like problem" or "hydra" refers to a multifaceted problem that seems incapable of step-by-step solution, or to one that worsens upon conventional attempts to solve it, for example, attempts to suppress a particular piece of information resulting in it being disseminated even more widely.
Origin
Image:Gustave Moreau 003.jpg Gustave_Moreau.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|[[Gustave Moreau: Heracles and the Lernaean Hydra, 1876.html" title="Meaning of 250px|[[Gustave Moreau">thumb|250px|[[Gustave Moreau: Heracles and the Lernaean Hydra, 1876">250px|[[Gustave Moreau">thumb|250px|[[Gustave Moreau: Heracles and the Lernaean Hydra, 1876
When the sun is in the sign of
Cancer (constellation) Cancer, the constellation
Hydra (constellation) Hydra has its head nearby. Also close by, beneath the sun, is the constellation of Cancer, the crab. Mythographers relate that the Lernaean Hydra and the crab, were put into the sky after Heracles slew them.
It is uncertain as to what the cauterising of the snake heads means, but it may derive from tales{{fact}} concerning a battle connected to Lerna, possibly indicative of setting fire to parts of the enemy (possibly the corpses) so as to disperse them.
Lerna features in another myth as a fountain from
Poseidon created in memorial of the daughter of
Danaos (who represents the
Danae, who appear in earlier works, such as the
Illiad, as a seafaring group from elsewhere), which may be a myth of a failed attack on the native population by Danae, which the Danae later repeated successfully.
The Greek word for ''arrow'', which is ''toxon'', is closely related to the Greek word for ''poison'', which is ''toxis'', thus the poison arrows that Heracles created from the Hydra's blood. Associations with the Nemaean lion may derive from recreating the surrounding narrative to suit an order in which the tale of the Hydra follows that of the lion.
Other appearances
The Hydra of Greek mythology was sited at Lerna: it did not pop up as an adversary elsewhere; nevertheless, in contemporary market-driven video-game culture, "Hydra" may be applied to any number of serpentlike many-headed menaces that are not "killed" by a single direct hit:
*The Hydra appears as a boss in the
PlayStation 2 PS2 game ''
God of War'', where the playable character,
Kratos, fights it onboard a ship in the
Aegean Sea. The Hydra in the game has three heads - the largest one is able to heal the other two. Kratos fights the two smaller heads first, then kills the dominant head by impaling it on the ship's prow.
*See also
Orochi Yamata no Orochi-ancient Japanese mythological many-headed serpent. It looks like the Lernaean Hydra.
*The Hydra appear as a unit for the Fortress army in Heroes of Might and Magic III.
*Hydras appear as Myth Units in
Age of Mythology and its expansion pack
Age of Mythology: The Titans
*In the game
Chrono Cross, there are two alternate worlds. In one, the Hydra have been hunted to extinction and no longer reside in their home, the Hydra Marshes. In the other world, a single Hydra remains. The reason for the Hydra's extinction is that their poison is deadly when used in battle, and the only antitode is Hydra Humour, a substance refined from the creature's bodily fluids. Besides being a major boss, the Hydra plays a major part in the storyline of the game.
*The Hydra appears as a boss in the game
Kingdom Hearts 2.
Sources
{{commons|Hydra (mythology)}}
* {{cite book
| first = Jane Ellen | last = Harrison
| authorlink = Jane Ellen Harrison
| title = Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion
| year = 1903
}}
* {{cite book
| first = Robert | last = Graves
| authorlink = Robert Graves
| title = The Greek Myths
| year = 1955
}}
* {{cite book
| first = Carl | last = Kerenyi
| authorlink = Carl Kerenyi
| title = The Heroes of the Greeks
| year = 1959
}}
* {{cite book
| first = Walter | last = Burkert
| authorlink = Walter Burkert
| title = Greek Religion
| publisher = Harvard University Press
| year = 1985
}}
* {{cite book
| author =
Carl Ruck Ruck, Carl and
Danny Staples Staples, Danny
| title = The World of Classical Myth
| year = 1994
}}
Category:Dungeons & Dragons creatures
category:Twelve labours of Herakles Hydra
Category:Dragons Hydra
Category:Dungeons & Dragons creatures Hydra
{{Link FA|zh}}
bg:ЛернейÑ?ка хидра
ca:Hidra de Lerna
da:Hydra
de:Hydra (Mythologie)
el:ΛεÏ?ναία ΎδÏ?α
es:Hidra de Lerna
fr:Hydre de Lerne
hr:Lernejska Hidra
it:Idra di Lerna
he:הידרה
lt:Lernos hidra
nl:Hydra (mythologie)
ja:ヒュドラ
no:Hydra (gresk mytologi)
pl:Hydra Lernejska
pt:Hidra de Lerna
ro:Hidra
ru:ЛернейÑ?каÑ? гидра
fi:Hydra
sv:Hydra
zh:�头蛇
see
Lernaean Hydra {{R from other capitalisation}}
*** Shopping-Tip: Lernaean hydra
