The Lernaean Hydra or Hydra of Lerna ( grc-gre, Λερναῖα Ὕδρα, ''Lernaîa Hýdra''), more often known simply as the Hydra, is a

serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

ine water monster in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...

. Its lair was the lake of

Lerna In classical Greece, Lerna ( el, Λέρνη) was a region of springs and a former lake near the east coast of the Peloponnesus, south of Ancient Argos, Argos. Even though much of the area is marshy, Lerna is located on a geographically narrow poi ...

in the Argolid, which was also the site of the myth of the Danaïdes. Lerna was reputed to be an entrance to the

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

, and archaeology has established it as a sacred site older than Mycenaean

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

. In the canonical Hydra myth, the monster is killed by

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

(

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

) as the second of his

Twelve Labors The Labours of Hercules or Labours of Heracles ( grc-gre, οἱ Ἡρακλέους ἆθλοι, ) are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as ...

. According to

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet ...

, the Hydra was the offspring of

Typhon Typhon (; grc, Τυφῶν, Typhôn, ), also Typhoeus (; grc, Τυφωεύς, Typhōeús, label=none), Typhaon ( grc, Τυφάων, Typháōn, label=none) or Typhos ( grc, Τυφώς, Typhṓs, label=none), was a monstrous serpentine giant an ...

and

Echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

. It had poisonous breath and blood so virulent that even its scent was deadly. The Hydra possessed many heads, the exact number of which varies according to the source. Later versions of the Hydra story add a

regeneration Regeneration may refer to: Science and technology * Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs * Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis ...

feature to the monster: for every head chopped off, the Hydra would regrow two heads. Heracles required the assistance of his nephew

Iolaus In Greek mythology, Iolaus (; Ancient Greek: Ἰόλαος ''Iólaos'') was a Theban divine hero. He was famed for being Heracles' nephew and for helping with some of his Labors, and also for being one of the Argonauts. Family Iolaus was ...

to cut off all of the monster's heads and burn the neck using a sword and fire.

Development of the myth

The oldest extant Hydra narrative appears in Hesiod's ''

Theogony The ''Theogony'' (, , , i.e. "the genealogy or birth of the gods") is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contain ...

'', while the oldest images of the monster are found on a pair of bronze

fibulae The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...

dating to c. 700 BC. In both these sources, the main motifs of the Hydra myth are already present: a multi-headed serpent that is slain by Heracles and

. While these fibulae portray a six-headed Hydra, its number of heads was first fixed in writing by Alcaeus (c. 600 BC), who gave it nine heads.

Simonides Simonides of Ceos (; grc-gre, Σιμωνίδης ὁ Κεῖος; c. 556–468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, born in Ioulis on Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of the nine lyric poets esteemed ...

, writing a century later, increased the number to fifty, while

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

, and others did not give an exact figure.

Heraclitus the Paradoxographer Heraclitus Paradoxographus ( el, Ἡράκλειτος) is the author of the lesser-known of two works known as ''Peri Apiston'' (''On Unbelievable Tales''). Palaephatus was the author of a better-known work of paradoxography with the same title, m ...

rationalized the myth by suggesting that the Hydra would have been a single-headed snake accompanied by its offspring. Like the initial number of heads, the monster's capacity to regenerate lost heads varies with time and author. The first mention of this ability of the Hydra occurs with

, where the monster grew back a pair of heads for each one severed by Heracles. In the '' Euthydemus'' of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

, Socrates likens Euthydemus and his brother Dionysidorus to a Hydra of a sophistical nature who grows two arguments for every one refuted.

Palaephatus Palaephatus (Ancient Greek: ) was the author of a rationalizing text on Greek mythology, the paradoxographical work ''On Incredible Things'' (; ), which survives in a (probably corrupt) Byzantine edition. This work consists of an introduction and ...

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

, and Diodorus Siculus concur with Euripides, while

Servius Servius is the name of: * Servius (praenomen), the personal name * Maurus Servius Honoratus, a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian * Servius Tullius, the Roman king * Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the 1st century BC Roman jurist See ...

has the Hydra grow back three heads each time; the '' Suda'' does not give a number. Depictions of the monster dating to c. 500 BC show it with a double tail as well as multiple heads, suggesting the same regenerative ability at work, but no literary accounts have this feature. The Hydra had many parallels in

ancient Near Eastern religion The religions of the ancient Near East were mostly polytheistic, with some examples of monolatry (for example, Yahwism and Atenism). Some scholars believe that the similarities between these religions indicate that the religions are related, a be ...

s. In particular, Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian mythology celebrated the deeds of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

and hunting god Ninurta, whom the '' Angim'' credited with slaying 11 monsters on an expedition to the mountains, including a seven-headed serpent (possibly identical with the Mushmahhu) and Bashmu, whose constellation (despite having a single Head) was later associated by the

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

with the Hydra. The constellation is also sometimes associated in Babylonian contexts with Marduk's dragon, the Mushhushshu.

Second Labor of Heracles

Eurystheus In Greek mythology, Eurystheus (; grc-gre, Εὐρυσθεύς, , broad strength, ) was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos. Fami ...

, the king of the

Tiryns Tiryns or (Ancient Greek: Τίρυνς; Modern Greek: Τίρυνθα) is a Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese, and the location from which the mythical hero Heracles performed his Twelve Labours. It lies south of M ...

, sent Heracles (or Hercules) to slay the Hydra, which Hera had raised just to slay Heracles. Upon reaching the swamp near Lake Lerna, where the Hydra dwelt, Heracles covered his mouth and nose with a cloth to protect himself from the poisonous fumes. He shot flaming arrows into the Hydra's lair, the spring of

Amymone In Greek mythology, Amymone (;Ancient Greek: Αμυμωνη means the "blameless" one) was a daughter of Danaus, king of Libya and Europe, a queen. As the "blameless" Danaid, her name identifies her as, perhaps, identical to Hypermnestra ("grea ...

, a deep cave from which it emerged only to terrorize neighboring villages. He then confronted the Hydra, wielding either a harvesting

sickle A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting, or reaping, grain crops or cutting Succulent plant, succulent forage chiefly for feed ...

(according to some early vase-paintings), a sword, or his famed

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

. The chthonic creature's reaction to this decapitation was botanical: two grew back, an expression of the hopelessness of such a struggle for any but the hero. The weakness of the Hydra was that it was invulnerable only if it retained at least one head. The details of the struggle are explicit in the '' Bibliotheca'': realizing that he could not defeat the Hydra in this way, Heracles called on his nephew

for help. His nephew then came upon the idea (possibly inspired by

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...

) of using a firebrand to scorch the neck stumps after each decapitation. Heracles cut off each head and Iolaus cauterized the open stumps. Seeing that Heracles was winning the struggle, Hera sent a giant crab to distract him. He crushed it under his mighty foot. The Hydra's one immortal head was cut off with a golden sword given to Heracles by Athena. Heracles placed the head—still alive and writhing—under a great rock on the sacred way between Lerna and Elaius, and dipped his arrows in the Hydra's poisonous blood. Thus, his second task was complete. The alternate version of this myth is that after cutting off one head he then dipped his sword in its neck and used its venom to burn each head so it could not grow back. Hera, upset that Heracles had slain the beast she raised to kill him, placed it in the dark blue vault of the sky as the constellation Hydra. She then turned the crab into the constellation

Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. Heracles would later use arrows dipped in the Hydra's poisonous blood to kill other foes during his remaining labors, such as Stymphalian Birds and the giant Geryon. He later used one to kill the centaur Nessus; and Nessus' tainted blood was applied to the

Tunic of Nessus In Greek mythology, the Shirt of Nessus, Tunic of Nessus, Nessus-robe, or Nessus' shirt was the poisoned shirt that killed Heracles. It was once a popular reference in literature. In folkloristics, it is considered an instance of the "poison dres ...

, by which the centaur had his posthumous revenge. Both Strabo and

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

report that the stench of the river Anigrus in Elis, making all the fish of the river inedible, was reputed to be due to the Hydra's poison, washed from the arrows Heracles used on the centaur. When Eurystheus, the agent of Hera who was assigning The Twelve Labors to Heracles, found out that it was Heracles' nephew Iolaus who had handed Heracles the firebrand, he declared that the labor had not been completed alone and as a result did not count toward the ten labors set for him. The mythic element is an equivocating attempt to resolve the submerged conflict between an ancient ten labors and a more recent twelve.

Constellation

Henry IV en Herculeus terrassant l Hydre de Lerne cad La ligue Catholique Atelier Toussaint Dubreuil circa 1600

Greek and Roman writers related that Hera placed the Hydra and crab as constellations in the night sky after Heracles slew him. When the sun is in the sign of

(

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "The Crab"), the constellation Hydra has its head nearby. In fact, both constellations derived from the earlier Babylonian signs: Bashmu ("The Venomous Snake") and

Alluttu Babylonian astronomy collated earlier observations and divinations into sets of Babylonian star catalogues, during and after the Kassite rule over Babylonia. These star catalogues, written in cuneiform script, contained lists of constellations, ...

("The Crayfish").

In popular culture

Hydra (often capitalized as HYDRA) is a fictional terrorist organization appearing in American comic books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. Its name alludes to Lernaean Hydra as does its motto: "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place," proclaiming the group's resilience and growing strength in the face of resistance.

In art

File:Lernaean Hydra Getty Villa 83.AE.346.jpg, Caeretan

black-figure Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic ( grc, , }), is one of the styles of painting on antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, although there are ...

hydria The hydria ( el, ὑδρία; plural hydriai) is a form of Greek pottery from between the late Geometric period (7th century BC) and the Hellenistic period (3rd century BC). The etymology of the word hydria was first noted when it was stamped o ...

(c. 346 BC) File:Mosaico Trabajos Hércules (M.A.N. Madrid) 02.jpg, Mosaic from

Roman Spain Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

(AD 26) File:Artista mantovano, ercole e l'idra di lerna, argento, 1530s.JPG, Silver sculpture (1530s) File:Hercules slaying the Hydra.jpg, Engraving (1) by

Hans Sebald Beham Sebald Beham (1500–1550) was a German painter and printmaker, mainly known for his very small engravings. Born in Nuremberg, he spent the later part of his career in Frankfurt. He was one of the most important of the " Little Masters", the group ...

File:Gustave Moreau 003.jpg,

Gustave Moreau Gustave Moreau (; 6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898) was a French artist and an important figure in the Symbolist movement. Jean Cassou called him "the Symbolist painter par excellence".Cassou, Jean. 1979. ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Symbolism.' ...

(1861) File:Singer Sargent, John - Hercules - 1921.jpg, John Singer Sargent (1921) File:NIKOLAI TRIIK Võitlus hydraga.jpg, A modern version by

Nikolai Triik Nikolai Voldemar Triik (7 August 1884, Tallinn – 12 August 1940, Tallinn) was an Estonian Modern art, Modernist painter, graphic artist, printmaker and professor. His work displays elements of Symbolism (art), Symbolism and Expressionism. Bio ...

File:Medaillie General Erich Ludendorff 1914 FRZ EUE BERLIN.jpg, Reverse of a 1937 medal by Fritz Eue commemorating General

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914 ...

Classical literature sources

Chronological listing of classical literature sources for the Lernaean Hydra: * Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 313 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic poetry C8th or 7th BC) * Alcman, Fragment 815 Geryoneis (''Greek Lyric'' trans. Campbell Vol 3) (Greek lyric poetry C7th BC) * Alcaeus, Fragment 443 (from Schoiast on Hesiod's Theogony) (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric II) (Greek lyric poetry C6th BC) * Simonides, Fragment 569 (from Servius on Virgil's Aeneid) (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric II) (Greek lyric poetry C6th to 5th BC) * Aeschylus, ''Leon'', Fragment 55 (from Stephen of Byzantium, Lexicon 699. 13) (trans. Weir Smyth) (Greek tragedy C5th BC) * Sophocles, ''Trachinae'' 1064-1113 (trans. Oates and O'Neil) (Greek tragedy C5th BC) * Euripides, ''The Madness of Hercules'' 419 ff (trans. Way) (Greek tragedy C5th BC) * Euripides, ''Hercules'' 556 ff (trans. Oates and O'Neil) (Greek tragedy C5th BC) * Plato, ''Euthydemus'' 297c (trans. Lamb) (Greek philosophy C4th BC) * Apollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica'' 4. 1390 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic poetry C3rd BC) * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 4. 11. 5 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek history C1st BC) * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 4. 38. 1 * Virgil, ''Aeneid'' 6. 287 ff (trans. Fairclough) (Roman epic poetry C1st BC) * Virgil, ''Aeneid'' 6. 803 ff (trans. Day-Lewis) (Roman epic poetry C1st BC) * Propertius, ''Elegies'', 2. 24a. 23 ff (trans. Butler) (Latin poetry C1st BC) * Lucretius, ''Of The Nature of Things'' 5 Proem 1 (trans. Leonard) (Roman philosophy C1st BC) * Strabo, ''Geography'' 8. 3. 19 (trans. Jones) (Greek geography C1st BC to C1st AD) * Strabo, ''Geography'' 8. 6. 2 * Strabo, ''Geography'' 8. 6. 6 * Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 9. 69 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic poetry C1st BC to C1st AD) * Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 9. 129 & 158 ff * Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 9. 192 ff * Ovid, ''Heroides'' 9. 87 ff (trans. Showerman) (Roman poetry C1st BC to C1st AD) * Ovid, ''Heroides'' 9. 115 ff * Philippus of Thessalonica, ''The Twelve Labors of Hercules'' (''The Greek Classics'' ed. Miller Vol 3 1909 p. 397) (Greek epigram C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 44 (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 220 ff * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 241 ff * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 526 ff * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 776 f * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 1194 ff * Seneca, ''Agamemnon'' 833 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Medea'' 700 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Hercules Oetaeus'' 17-30 (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st AD) * Valerius Flaccus, ''Argonautica'' 3. 224 (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic poetry C1st AD) * Valerius Flaccus, ''Argonautica'' 7. 623 ff * Statius, ''Thebaid'' 2. 375 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic poetry C1st AD) * Statius, ''Thebaid'' 4. 168 ff * Statius, ''Silvae'' 2. 1. 228 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic poetry C1st AD) * Statius, ''Silvae'' 5. 3. 260 ff * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 2. 5. 2 (trans. Frazer) (Greek mythography C2nd AD) * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 2. 7. 7 * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 2. 37. 4 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd AD) * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 3. 18. 10 - 16 * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 5. 5. 9 * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 5. 17. 11 * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 5. 26. 7 * Aelian, ''On Animals'' 9. 23 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd AD) * Ptolemy Hephaestion, ''New History'' Book 2 (summary from Photius, Myriobiblon 190) (trans. Pearse) (Greek mythography C1st to C2nd AD) * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' Preface (trans. Grant) (Roman mythography C2nd AD) * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 30 * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 34 * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 151 * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Astronomica'' 2. 23 * Philostratus, ''Life of Apollonius'' of Tyana 5. 5 (trans. Conyreare) (Greek sophistry C3rd AD) * Philostratus, ''Life of Apollonius'' of Tyana 6. 10 * Quintus Smyrnaeus, ''Fall of Troy'' 6. 212 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic poetry C4th AD) * Quintus Smyrnaeus, ''Fall of Troy'' 9. 392 ff * Nonnos, ''Dionysiaca'' 25. 196 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic poetry C5th AD) * Boethius, ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' 4. 7. 13 ff (trans. Rand & Stewart) (Roman philosophy C6th AD) * Suidas s.v. ''Hydran temnein'' (trans. Suda On Line) (Greco-Byzantine Lexicon C10th AD) * Suidas s.v. ''Hydra'' * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Histories'' 2. 237 ff (trans. Untila et al.) (Greco-Byzantine history C12 AD) * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Histories'' 2. 493 ff

References

Bibliography

Primary sources

* Pseudo-Apollodorus, '' Bibliotheca'' ii.5.2 *

, ''

'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Hyginus, Gaius Julius
''The Myths of Hyginus''
Edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960.

Secondary sources

* * * * * * * * *

Theoi Project The Theoi Project (also known as Theoi Greek Mythology) is a digital library website about Greek mythology and its representation in classical literature and ancient Greek art. It serves as a free reference to the gods (''theoi''), spirits (''dai ...

digital library about Greek mythology

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hydra, Lernaean Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid Greek dragons Labours of Hercules Phrases and idioms derived from Greek mythology Legendary serpents Mythical many-headed creatures Water monsters