Lake Lerni

In the plain of Argolida there was then an unhealthy marsh, called Lerni. It was full of aquatic plants, rotten leaves, leeches, water snakes and mosquitoes. Neither people nor animals could live around Lerni. Some winters it even filled with water and flooded the surrounding fields.

What was the Hydra

But the worst thing was that inside the swamp lived a terrible, horrible monster, the Hydra. It had eight serpentine heads and a big one in the middle that was immortal. The Hydra was stirring in the marsh and its heads were popping up over the reeds. Sometimes it would come out whole and crawl belly down into the crops and destroy them. She would even grab animals and people with her heads and drown them in the swamp.

Hercules goes to Lerni

- I want you to kill the Lernaean Hydra, said Eurystheus to Hercules, when he recovered from his terror and came out of the jar.

Hercules started from Mycenae for Lerni. On the way he met his nephew Iolaus and took him with him. At the edge of the marsh they lit a fire. Iolaus burned the arrows on the point and Hercules bowed them into the marsh to force Hydra out. In a little while she seemed to come furiously upon them.

The first battle with the beast

Hercules waited for it with courage. When he approached, he stepped on her belly and immediately began to cut off her head. But how strange! One head he cut off, two came off in its place.

And other obstacles

It was not enough, Hera sent a crab and bit Hercules' leg. It wasn't just bravery that was needed now, it was patience and wit. And Hercules had those gifts. With one blow he killed the crab and called for Iolaus to bring him lighted torches.

The victory

Hercules would cut off a head, Iolaus would burn the wound and no more would grow. The head that was left last in no way died - it was immortal. So Hercules cut it off, threw it into a long and deep ditch and covered it with large slabs of stone and earth. And it stayed in there immortal, but harmless to men.