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| Hydra Sea monsters |
Lernaean Hydra
hAlso known as the Hydra of Lerna or simply referred to as the Hydra, is a serpentine water monster featured in both Greek and Roman mythology. Its lair was located in the lake of Lerna in the Argolid. Lerna is the entrance to the Underworld. In the Hydra myth, Heracles (Hercules) kills the monster as the second of his Twelve Labors. Hydra is told to have poisonous breath and blood that is so virulent that even its scent was deadly. Various stories are told as to the exact number of heads that Hydra had, 6, 9, even 50, but it had many. Later stories say that Hydra would regenerate two heads in the place of every one cut off. Heracles (Hercules) had the help of his nephew, Iolaus, to cut off all the Hydra’s many heads and burn the neck using a sword and fire.
IMAGE OF HYDRA
Labours of Hercules
Hercules actually performed twelve labors, but Erystheus refused to recognize two: the slaying of the lernaean Hydra, as Hercules’ relative lolaus had assisted him; and the cleansing of the Augeas, because Hercules was paid. The Second Labor involved slaying the Hydra, which Hera had raised to slay Hercules. Hercules fired flaming arrows into the Hydra’s lair. Then when he confronted Hydra he realized that once he cut off a head, two grew back. He also became aware that one of the heads was immortal. He sought the help of Iolaus, who had the idea, possible from Athena, to burn the neck stumps after each decapitation. Hercules cut off the heads and then lolaus cauterized the open stumps. Seeing he was winning, Hera sent a giant crab to distract him, but he simply crushed it with his foot. He cut off the immortal head with a golden sword given to him by Athena. He dipped his sword in Hydra’s poisonous blood, completing his second labor. Another account says after cutting off one head he dipped his sword in it and used its venom to burn each head so it could not grow back. Upset Hera placed the monster in the dark blue vault of sky as the constellation Hydra and the crab was turned into the constellation Cancer.
The famed nephew of Hercules and a divine hero. In stories, he was a charioteer and companion of Hercules. Some say he was Heracles’ lover and there is a shrine to him in Thebes where male couples worshiped and made vows to him. Hercules gave his wife Megara, age 33 to Iolaus because the sight of her reminded him of his murdering their three children He was considered, through his daughter, to have fathered the mythic and historic line of the kings of Corinth, ending with Telestes. A genus of Lycaenid butterfly has been named after him.
Megara
Given to Hercules by Creon as a reward for defending Thebes, they married and she bore him a daughter and son. He killed the daughter and son where Hera struck him with temporary madness, some stories say that Hercules also murdered Megara in other stories, she was given to Iolaus when Hercules left Thebes forever.
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