Hydra, The 9 Headed Water Serpant

Hydra, The 9 Headed Water Serpent

Weaknesses/Strengths

Bibliography

http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Hydra_(mythology)

Images:

Sites:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lernaean_Hydra

http://www.theoi.com/Ther/DrakonHydra.html

http://corndoggy.deviantart.com/art

Hydra-297732361

The one thing that was definately on the Hydra side was side was that it lacked was an obvious weakness. This was a large downfall for Heracles because during the rest of the 12 labours, the others creatures had known, or easier to find weaknesses. However Hydra's hidden weakness was shown in the second labour. The massive beasts true weakness was to burn its regeneration glands. Or the mighty blade of a god or godess. In the main myth, the godly blade was given by the goddess of wisdom, and war, Athena. So onto the myths.

Hydra's Myths

Where it Nests...

What is the Hydra?

There was one central area that the Hydra serpent lived, rested, and relied on for protection. This area was the swamps just outside of the ancient city of Lerna. The city of Lerna was located in Argolid. This area was an area of perfection for the creature for the reason that it was a water serpent. The creature could move quicker through the water than it could on dry land. This was affective in the fast moving battle of the 2nd labour.

Many people in this modern day believe that Hydra was a dragon. But Greek mythology shows that it was a water serpent. This creature has a total of 9 heads, and the main, and central head, was said to be immortal to any type of man made weapons such as spears, swords, bows, arrows, maces, daggers, catapults, or ballistics. The other eight heads had the ability to grow 2 more after one was chopped off. This creature has many myths surrounding it, so lets move on to the background of the Hydra.

There are multiple myths about the Hydra. However the primary, and most popular myth is the fact that it was defeated by Heracles. The story behind this has 2 versions, however one is proven more reliable than the other. The story is that during the 12 labors, the second one was to slay the Hydra. Knowing that one of the Hydra's heads was immortal, the goddess of war known as Athena, gave Heracles a mighty golden sword that was powerful enough to slay the one immortal head of Hydra. Heracles only remaining issue was that the Hydra had the blessing of regeneration body parts. The hero however had an assistant, Ionas. Ionas had the genius idea of using flaming arrows to burn off the regeneration ability for the Hydra. So with the mighty golden sword of Athena, and the barrage of flaming arrows, the Hydra was defeated. Heracles sliced off each head, and Ionas shot a flaming arrow at the remaining neck. The final, and immortal head was sliced off and destroyed my the golden blade. Afterward, Heracles got a large heaped quiver and dipped all of the arrows into the open cut of the Hydra, making them deadly poisonous, and he used the arrows to slay other creatures of the 12 labors such as Cerberus ,however the creature was to be captured not killed, and the deadly, man eating birds.

Why is Hydra important in Greek mytholigy?

Birth, and Background

Talents of Hydra

Summary of Hydra

The overall summary of the Hydra is that the creature was a water serpent, who played a

fairly large part in the history of greek mythology, and is a mighty creature, who was so well known, that there was an entire island named after this creature. It was a creature of the twelve labours and it showed a valid part in the history of Heracles.

Interesting Facts about the Hydra

1. Even though the Hydra has been believed to be offspring of two different groups. The groups both round up to make sense, so there is no way that people can prove one myth or the other.

2. After the myths of Hydra became known, there was an entire island named after the beast, surrounded by water.(A whole lot for the reason the creature was a water serpent).

The Hydra has had multiple beliefs of who's offspring it really was. A couple of the beliefs are that it is offspring from Echinda (A creature that was half-maiden and half-serpent), and Typhon (A creature with 100 heads). Others believe that the creature was the offspring of Styx, and Pallas, a strong and mighty titan. The water serpent, later on down the line, was taken in and raised by the goddess known as Hera. During the 12 labors, when Heracles fought the Hydra, Hera was the one that sent the giant crab to attempt to protect what she had raised throughout the years. Now let's move on.

There are two primary reasons why the Hydra is an important figure in greek mythology, and they are the following. The number one reason is the basic fact that it was the creature of the 2nd labour. This is a very important part of greek mythology, so having Hydra be a part of it, makes this beast fairly important in this mythology. Now the second reason is because of its birth and background. This creature was not only raised by the powerful goddess known as Hera, but also was believed to be the offspring of 2 different groups, and both being fairly well known. It is that in greek mythology that being the offspring, or child of mighty figures, it plays a large role, ad has a strong knowing thoughout time.

The Hydra was not one of the most talented creatures, however one talent the beast did have was the fact it was quite fast in the water. That is the #1 reason why the beast rests outside of Lernea, a swampy, damp, wet area. Another talent is the fact that the creature also has the ability to breath fire, even though it is a water creature.