Heracles & The lernaean Hydra: The 12 Labours of Heracles EP.2 | Greek Mythology

The second labor assigned to Heracles by Eurystheus was to slay the Lernian Hydra. The Lernian Hydra was the nine-headed serpentine offspring of Echidna and Typhon, that lived in the swamp of Lerna. It grew two more heads if one was cut off, and had one immortal head that could not be killed. Its blood was so noxious that it destroyed anything it tainted, even the mere scent of it was strong enough to kill. On getting to the Hydra's swampy home, the place was covered in its poisonous breath, that Heracles was forced to put a cloth over his nose and mouth. To lure the Hydra out, he shot flaming arrows into its dark lair. When the monster emerged, Heracles cut off one of its heads, only to realize in horror that it grew two more. Knowing it would take more to serpent, he temporarily retreated to get the help of his nephew Aeolaus, son of his brother Ithacles. There, Athena gifted him with a golden sword that would cut off the monster's immortal head. Going back to the lair fully prepared, Heracles again cut off the Hydra's heads, but this time, Aeolaus burnt the stumps, so no more heads would grow back. In order to distract them, Hera sent a huge crab, which bit Heracles relentlessly, till he squashed it under his foot. The hero severed the Hydra's immortal head with Athena's sword, while his nephew scorched the last stump. He made his arrows poisonous thereafter, by dipping the tips in the Hydra's blood. And that was it, the Hydra had been slain. Hera transformed the dead monster into a Hydra, and transformed the squashed crab into the constellation called Cancer. Meanwhile, Heracles returned to Tiryns, once again victorious. However, Eurystheus refused to acknowledge his success at the task, solely because the hero had been helped by his nephew. Thus, the slaying of the Lernaean Hydra would not be counted among the supposed 10 labors, and Heracles would have to fulfill an extra task to make up for the dismissed one.