For this he killed the crab, and called on his own behalf to Iolaos for help. Then a giant crab came along to help the Hydra, and bit Herakles on the foot. But she hung on to him by wrapping herself round one of his feet, and he was unable to help matters by striking her with his club, for as soon as one head was pounded off two others would grow in its place. By throwing flaming spears at her he forced her to emerge, and as she did he was able to catch hold. With Iolaos (Iolaus) driving, Herakles rode a chariot to Lerna, and there, stopping the horses, he found the Hydra on a ridge beside the springs of Amymone where she nested. The Hydra was of enormous size, with eight mortal heads, and a ninth one in the middle that was immortal. The beast was nurtured in the marshes of Lerna, from where she would go out onto the flatland to raid flocks and ruin the land. "For his second labour Herakles was instructed to slay the Lernaian (Lernaean) Hydra. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) : from the sea-freshly, I fancy, arrived on shore and, when the hero was so bothered with its leftward barks and bites, he summoned his nephew Iolaus to the rescue, and he brought him effective relief." who was so clever that she sent forth many heads. " Herakles (Heracles), who was no match for the Hydra. "The bane of wayfarers, the drakon (serpent) that haunts the place." "One hundred snakes as in Simonides, as we said above others say there were nine."Īeschylus, Fragment 55 Leon (from Stephen of Byzantium, Lexicon 699. Greek Lyric II) (Greek lyric C6th to 5th B.C.) : Simonides, Fragment 569 (from Servius on Virgil's Aeneid) (trans. ![]() ![]() "The Hydra is called nine-headed by Alcaeus, fifty-headed by Simonides." Greek Lyric II) (Greek lyric C6th B.C.) : Yet he, Herakles, son of Zeus, of the line of Amphitryon, by design of Athene the spoiler and with help form warlike Iolaos, killed this beast with the pitiless bronze sword."Īlcaeus, Fragment 443 (from Schoiast on Hesiod's Theogony) (trans. "And third again she bore the grisly-minded Lernaian (Lernaean) Hydra, whom the goddess white-armed Hera nourished because of her quenchless grudge against the strong Herakles (Heracles). Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.) : Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.ĬLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES HYDRA THE SECOND LABOUR OF HERACLES Lernaean Hydra, Athenian red-figure krater C5th B.C., The J. Eurystheus declared the victory unlawful, as Heracles had won it with the aid of Iolaus. Having thus conquered the monster, he poisoned his arrows with its bile, whence the wounds inflicted by them became incurable. However, with the assistance of his faithful servant Iolaus, he burned away the heads of the hydra, and buried the ninth or immortal one under a huge rock. Heracles, with burning arrows, hunted up the monster, and with his club or a sickle he cut off its heads but in the place of the head he cut off, two new ones grew forth each time, and a gigantic crab came to the assistance of the hydra, and wounded Heracles. It ravaged the country of Lernae near Argos, and dwelt in a swamp near the well of Amymone: it was formidable by its nine heads, the middle of which was immortal. This monster, like the lion, was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, and was brought up by Hera. TYPHOEUS & EKHIDNA (Hesiod Theogony 313, Hyginus Pref & Fab 30 & 151) The Hydra and the Crab were afterwards placed amongst the stars by Hera as the Constellations Hydra and Cancer. In the battle he also crushed a giant crab beneath his heel which had come to assist the Hydra. ![]() So with the help of Iolaos (Iolaus), he applied burning brands to the severed stumps, cauterizing the wounds and preventing the regeneration. Herakles (Heracles) was sent to destroy her as one of his twelve labours, but for each of her heads that he decapitated, two more sprang forth. HYDRA LERNAIA (Lernaean Hydra) was a gigantic, nine-headed water-serpent, which haunted the swamps of Lerna. Lerna Water-Serpent Heracles, Iolaus and the Hydra, Athenian red-figure stamnos C5th B.C., Regional Archeological Museum Antonio Salinas
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |