Friday, 9 April 2021

CREATURES OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY – HYDRA

 

There was a dreadful union between the giant immortal Typhon

And the black fearful eyed Echidne, half serpent, half woman

The terrifying end result of this unnatural union was the hydra

A great many headed Drakon who inhabited the swamps of Lerna

It was the second labor of Heracles to kill the water Drakon

And the hero drew the great creature out to fight in the open

Then with his bronze sword he hacked off heads from the hydra

But for every head he severed two grew in place of the other

If that wasn’t bad enough the Hydra's breath was itself lethal

And even to smell its footprints was enough to kill any mortal

Very Soon the beast’s heads tangled around him like serpents

Iolaus his nephew comes to his aid and his death he prevents

As Heracles cut off its heads and to prevent new ones sprouting 

Iolaus with a flaming torch sealed the wounds by cauterizing

Finally, Heracles lopped off the last one and Hydra was dead

He buried deep below a boulder the Hydras one immortal head

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