Lernaean Hydra

The Lernaean Hydra is a water monster from Argolis, connected with the second labour of Heracles. When the hero cut off one head, new ones grew in its place until Iolaus began cauterising the wounds.

Poison and memory of the labour

After the victory Heracles uses the Hydra's poison for his arrows. This motif connects the defeat of the monster with the hero's own later tragic consequences.

Additional sources and visual checks

The Hydra is read through the Heracles cycle, the landscape of Lerna and the motif of a monster that cannot be defeated by ordinary means. Images need to separate the labour scene from later decorative variants.

For source checks: - Perseus Digital Library - Beazley Archive - LIMC online

Related topics

• Labours of Heracles
• Cerberus
• Greco-Roman Mythology

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