For his third Labor, Poseidon sent Herazale to slay the Lernaean Hydra. He obtained a boat and sailed toward the land surrounding Lake Lerna. While at sea, he heard the melodic voice of a woman. Thinking he was dreaming, he returned to bed.
Later, he heard the sound of rocks pummeling his vessel. He made his way aft and as he spanned the horizon, he spotted a magnificent sea nereid perched upon a small island protruding from the sea. She swam toward his boat and beckoned him to follow her. She explained that a horrible storm was churning at sea and he must make haste.
Herazale and the nereid, Megina, trekked through the forest and entered a grove of Apocynaceae, smelling the sweet flower long before he saw the mass of trees. Megina, quickly and carefully broke nine small branches that were filled with flowers and twisted them to form a wreath. She was aware that this species of plant was extremely poisonous if ingested and not handled properly. Gently, she placed the wreath of flowers around Herazale’s neck and they walked deeper into the swamp near the home to the lair of the Hydra.
Megina knew what Herazale did not, that the Hydra had poisonous breath and a scent so virulent that an inhalation could cause death. Statigically she had placed the wreath around his neck aware that the scent from the Apocynaceae flowers would protect Herazale from the monster’s fumes.
While navigating among the rocks in the swamp, Herazale spotted a colony of large turtles. Reaching into his pack, he tossed errant pieces of bread to them, leftovers from breakfast. Megina gave Herazale a grateful smile. Despite his great strength, she was discovering that he also had a gentle heart for the animals of the sea and water.
The couple stopped, suddenly, as they watched in horror as the nine headed serpentine monster emerged from a cave. Herazale acted quickly, confronting the Hydra and cutting off one of its heads with his sword. The creature shrieked. Stunned, Herazale and Megina saw two heads appear where the one had once been.
Immobilized by fear, Herazale heard a rustling of branches behind him. All at once, nine turtles appeared and took the wreath from his neck. Each turtle fed the heads of the Hydra a branch with flowers. The Hydra’s eyes opened wide and it fell, lifeless, to the ground.
Herazale decapitated the heads and flung the heads and body of the Hydra into a roaring fire. After a few minutes, Herazale removed the scorched body of the Hydra and cut it into smaller pieces. From these pieces emerged whelks. Herazale proclaimed to the pieces that they would forever be confined to the shells of the sea. Thus his third task was complete
Herazale and Megina returned to Poseidon’s palace. Herazale proclaimed to Poseidon that he did not wish to continue the remaining Labors and would instead hlive a life of shame and failure. Poseidon’s heart ached for Herazale. He told him that he would not allow him to live a life of shame and declared that Herazale’s murders had been atoned. However, Poseidon announced that Herazale must perform one final task...to marry Megina.
Herazale and Megina were married and as the happy couple walked away from the alter, Poseidon opened the vial holding the drops of the Elixir of Life and let it flow over Herazale’s head. Herazale was made immortal and he lived his life serving Poseidon in the depths of the sea with his wife, Megina.
Author's Note:
Herazale’s Third Labor was based partially on Hercules’ Second Labor (see below) which also involved the slaying of the Lernaean Hydra. My story did not include his cousin but rather added the love interest, Megina. Being true to a nereid’s definition of protecting the animals of the water, she fell in love with Herazale due to his kindness to sea and water animals. I recalled liking the element of kindness being rewarded in the story in the Jataka unit: The River Fish and the Monkey, Bodhisatta’s kindness/gratefulness to the fish and water spirit was returned later in the story. I wanted my story to also reflect the full circle of kindness concerning the turtles and their aid in slaying the Hydra. I could not resist weaving the death of the Hydra into an origin story of whelks. Origin myths are my favorite.
Megina’s character not only followed the sea and water theme, but also allowed Herazale to see his future and resolve his internal desire for atonement from Poseidon, thus completing the story arc.
Bibliography
Information on the Lernaean Hydra, here
Information on the Apocynaceae, here
The River Fish and the Monkey, here
Information on whelks, here