Historiae Romanorum

The Hydra

An offspring of Echidna and Typhaon, the Hydra is is a serpent-like creature with nine heads, one of which is immortal.  Moreover, each time a head is cut off, two more grow up in its place.  To defeat the Hydra was the second of the twelve labors of Heracles.  To defeat it, Heracles cut of the heads and had his friend Iolaus who pressed down with a branding iron, searing the wound so that two more heads would not be created.  Heracles then hid the immortal head under a rock.

When he returned to Eurystheus, however, the weak king declared that this labor did not count, since Heracles had enlisted the help of a friend.

Source(s):

1. Hesiod.  Theogeny.

2. Apollodorus.  Bibliotece.

This page was last updated on July 21, 2004.