synonymHydra (The monster in Greek mythology) generally refers to Haidera (the nine headed snake in Greek mythology)
Hydra, yesMYTHOSIt is said that it has nine heads. If one head is cut off, two heads will be born immediately.HeraclesUsing his wisdom, he successfully defeated Hugewater snakeHaidera.
Haidera is a mythical creature in the WestMYTHOSMost frequently in, but《Persian classics》、《Bible》、AfricaLegendsChinese mythologyYou can also see the multi headed monster similar to Haidera.asJapanese mythologyInEight Qi SnakeNine strange birds in Chinese mythologyGhost car、Xiangliu。The gatekeeper of Western HellHellhoundGenerally, it is sculpted as three heads. In fact, the Hell Dog is also multi headed. The three heads are just to express that it has many heads, not only three heads.
It seems that multi headed monsters appear in myths everywhere. Their strange images represent evil, huge bodies represent power, and multi headed monsters represent strong vitality.More similarly, these monsters are the background of great heroes.
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Heracles Killed Haidera
According to legend, Haidera is a strange snake with nine heads. He is the father of the most powerful monster in Greek mythology, a hundred giant dragonsTyphon (typhon) and female leaderSnake bodyblameEkadnaThere is another saying that phalas andStyx(riverstyx）Born together, he lives in the marsh of Rona in Argos Bay, known as Rona Hydra. He devours fields, ravages people and animals, and does all kinds of evil. The poisonous gas he exhales also makes the local area so-calledplagueswamp.
ZeusBornHeraclesHerculesHeraHe lost his mind and killed his wife and children. In order to atone for his sins, he accepted the divine metaphor and went to serve himCousinThe friar Julius of the King of Mycenae was not stupid. In order to please Hera, he decided to do everything possible to kill Heracles, so he gave him twelve difficult tasks. The first was to kill the impenetrable lion of Namibia. Later Heracles used its skin as armor to carry out the second task,The second task is to kill Hydra Hydra. In addition to its poisonous gas, the venom of Hydra Hydra is also a strange poison in the world.
However, because Hercules' lion skin was impenetrable, its fangs could not get in, but it had nine heads. Cutting off each head would regenerate, and the head in the middle would never die. Hercules was troubled. Fortunately, his nephew gave him a torch to burn the wound with every head cut off,Let him never grow up again.After the last head was cut off, Hercules pressed its head with a big stone so that it could no longer be blamed. Finally, all the arrows on his body were stained with the poisonous blood of Haidera and became Hercules' later weapons.
The hydra in ancient Greece was also called Lernaean Hydra, because it lived in the marshLena LakeIt gets its name from its proximity.It's hugewater snakeThere are different opinions about the number of its heads.Pausanias thinks there is only one, Simonides says there are five, Topsy（Edward TopSell) increased to seven, even to Diodorus SiculusUp to oneOne hundred.But most of the ancient books and records are based on nine heads, especially the one in the middle (also said to be golden).
2. Family background
There are two versions of the family tree of HydraTyphon And Echidna, so he is Cerberus, KemiraNimea Lion, or even the sister of the bird demon (Hydra is female).Another said that its parents were the Titan giant Pallas and Styx, the Styx goddess.That way, itsbrothers and sistersIncluding Zeus' retinueZelos 、Victory GoddessNiche and the two generals of the god of warKratosAnd Biya.
3. Hydra and Hercules
Heracles Killed Haidera
Hydra is famous for Hercules.The second of the hero's twelve great feats was to kill the demon.The Hydra is extremely poisonous, and the water in the marsh stinks all the year round, and the surrounding land turns brown.It also often eats the animals of passers-by to harm one side.Heracles and his nephew Iolaus（Iolaus）Drive the wagon to the swamp.He ordered Iolaus to keep an eye on the vehicle and led the Hydra out with a rocket.The two sides started a war. Every time the hero cut off one head of the monster with a sword (or sickle), another new head (or two) was born again.Hercules then called his nephew to help.Iolaus burned his neck with a torch, and his head could not be reborn.At last Hercules cut off eight heads one by one, hit the main head in the middle with a huge stick, buried it in the soil, and pressed it with a big stone, which was considered to eradicate this scourge.
The second task that the king gave Hercules was to kill Hydra the Hydra.Hydra was the daughter of Tiphon and Eckard.She's in la la argolisMarshlandThose who grew up in the village often climbed to the bank, spoiling crops and harming livestock.She is extremely ferocious. Her body is huge. She has nine headsSnake monsterOf which eight heads can be killed, while the ninth head, the upright one in the middle, cannot be killed.
HeraclesHave the courage to take risks.He drove for him, driving for him his nephew Ioraos, the son of his cousin Iphicles.Ioraos has always been with him, and is his inseparable right hand and left hand.The car hurried towards Lena.When they reached the hillside near the Amimana Spring, they saw the Hydra Snake Monster in the cave.Ioraos hurriedly pullsBridleHeracles jumped out of the carriage.He shot several arrows in a rowSnake demonThe hole is drawn out.Hydra rushed to Heracles with hissing hiss, and held up nine heads in an aggressive manner, looking very terrible.Hercules bravely went up to her and grabbed her firmly.But she suddenly entangled Heracles' foot.Hercules raised the stick and hit her hard on the head, but broke one and soon another grew up.One of her crabs came to the war to help Hydra.It bit Heracles' foot with a pair of pliers.Heracles beat him to death in a rage, and at the same time, he called for Ioraos to help him.Ioraos sticks to the torch, lights the nearby woods, and then uses the burning branchesburnThe newly grown snake head will not grow up.At this time, Hercules took the opportunity to cut off the immortal head of Hydra and buried it beside the road with a heavy stone on it.Then he split the snake body into two pieces and soaked the arrow in the poisonousSnake bloodLi.Since then, the enemy who was hit by his arrow has no medicine to cure.
According to other versions, Hera sent a crab to assist the demon while the two sides were struggling.Cancer nipped Heracles and was killed by the hero immediately.This Cancer has become the source of Cancer in the sky.This scene is also depicted on the stone tablets of Gulena in the second century BC.
After the death of the Hydra, Heracles fed the arrowhead with the venom of its gall bladder.these ones herepoisoned arrowLater, I hurt people by mistakechiron 。Karon isEternal Life , but the snake venom pierced the bones and the pain was hard to deal with, so he gave up eternal life and preferred to die and fly to the skyCentaur。The poison arrow also buried the cause of Heracles' own death.After completing 12 tasks, he took his wife home to settle down.Killed another man and horse with poison arrows on the roadNessus （Nessos）。Before their death, they cheated Heracles' wifeDeianila(Deianeira), said that his blood is the holy medicine to promote love. Smear a little on his clothes, and whoever wears it will be faithful all his life.At that time, there was a rumor that Heracles would marry Lole.In order to save her husband's heart, Deianila acted according to what people said.Heracles put on the new clothes presented by his wife, and the venom of the Hydra seeped into the skin through Nezos' blood.He wanted to tear off his clothes, but they were already glued to the skin and could not be separated.A generation of heroes died.This anecdote is most detailed and vivid in Metamorphosis.
4. Other legends
It is said that after the death of the Hydra, together with the Hell Dog, they guarded the gate for the Hades.Inyad wrote: "There are many demons under the gate of (Hades')... Take the Hydra and hiss."
GreeceThe Anigros River near the city of Elis is filthy, and it is difficult to survive.It is said that it is because Nezos was poisoned by a poisonous arrow and washed his wound here, so that the river was polluted by snake venom.
2、 Persian Hydra
Azhi Dahaki in Persia is as old as Lena Hydra.according toZoroastrianismPersianCreation Myth It is recorded that Azhi Dahaji is an evil godAngra Mainyu (Angra Mainyu).There are three songs in life, representing pain, bitterness and death, as well as three claws, six to eighteen eyes, wings and sharp teeth.Its body is full of snakes, scorpions and poisonous insects. Once released, the world will be in chaos.The hero Thraetaona imprisoned him on the Demavend.It is said that it will break through the prohibition and be born again at the end of the day.One third of all living creatures will be swallowed.Until another hero Keresasa killed it.
3、 The Hydra of the Bible
Haidera
The seven red dragons in the Bible are Satan's incarnation.Chapter 12 of Revelation in the Bible says:
"The sky appears againA visionCome on.There is oneBig Red Dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on their headsThe dragon is the ancient snake, named Devil and Satan, which deceives the whole world.He was thrown to the ground, and his messengers were also thrown down. "
according toEast AfricaKenyaLake VictoriaLakeshoreAccording to the legend of the region, there were seven water snakes living in the river, and the river flowed continuously.People offer it regularlySupplies。One day a pregnant woman brought a pot of muddy mud.She wants to drink clean water, and is willing to exchange her daughter in her belly.The water snake agreed to this condition and poured water into her pot.Later, the woman's daughter Jinde Sirinde grew up and went to the river to fetch water. The water snake caught her and became his wife.Jinde requests to go home to visit his relatives. The water snake is limited to one day.Kinder goes home to find his lover.When the water snake came, the lover took his sword and cut off seven heads, except one.
5、 Chinese Hydra
Hydra in China《shanhaiching》InXiangliu。It isCoproductionHis courtiers have nine snake bodies with blue faces on them.The body is huge and unrivalled, and every place passing by is trapped in Juze.The Empress Xiangliu was killed by Dayu. His blood stinks like hellGrainsNot born:
"The minister of Gonggong saidXiangliuNine songs to feed on Jiushan Mountain.The place where Xiang Liu arrived was Zexi.Yu killed Xiangliu, which was bloody and could not plant grain.Yu Juezhi, three Rens and three Jus, is the platform of all emperors.It is in the north of Kunlun and in the east of Rouli.The willow lovers have nine human faces, and the snake has a blue face.Dare not shoot north, and fear the platform of joint work.The platform is in the east.There is a snake in the corner of the four sides of the platform. It is tiger colored and heads south. "-- The Classic of Mountains and Rivers · Overseas Northern Classic
andQu Yuan《Heaven asks》There is also the imagination of "nine male asps, and why are they there?".
stayAngkor DynastyIn the era, Khmer people serve nine headsSnake essenceNaga is a god, legendAngkorThe king is the descendant of the hydra spirit, and is one of thePalace in the airIt is said that Angkor King slept with the female hydra spirit at nightPalaceAlthough the Queen dared not enter.The king came out to sleep with the queen just after the second drum.If the snake spirit does not come one day, the king's death is near. If the king does not go one day, there must be disaster.In Angkor's historic sites, nine headed snakes can be seen everywhere.
There are three explanations about the origin of the mythical imagination of the Hydra.First, its prototype isoctopusora squid。Both live in water.Octopus eight feet, cuttlefish full, can break and regenerate.The ancients did not know this thing. They took the foot as the head and exaggerated their imagination to produce the Hydra.
David Jones is in《Good Dragon Collection》(An Instinct for Dragons) thinks that nine heads are the illusion caused by one head shaking from left to right.He usedSouthern FranceThe rock paintings found are evidence.The painting is about 30000 to 100000 years ago, and there is a line on itreindeer。Other rock paintings nearby mostly depict a group of reindeer.Jones pointed out that "one line" actually represents the front and back connection of a reindeer's movement.The origin of Jiutou can be deduced in the same way.
Perhaps the most credible explanation stems from some simple idea of primitive people: if the number of limbs is more than usual, the strength is also extraordinary.Ancient GreeceA hundred armed giant, invincible.India and ChinaAvalokitesvara, three head eight (or six arm)nezhaThey are all powerfuldharmakaya。Such examples are too numerous to enumerate.
The symbolic significance of the Hydra in later generations is mainly caused by its mythical allusions.For example, the Bible uses the mouth of a hydra to represent the entrance to hell, which comes from its record of guarding the gate of hell.andHeraldryIt symbolizes the victory over the strong enemy, that is, it implies the event of Hercules.It is also associated with Fengwo's prolificacy, which of course originates from Jiutou'sRegenerative capacity。
