022 Labors of Heracles (Part 2)

And I am back for the next task that Heracles had to complete. When we last left our hero, he returned to Eurystheus wearing the hide of the Nemean Lion as a cloak. Terrified, Eurystheus sent Heracles on his next quest, to slay the deadly Lernaean Hydra.

I'll be back

The beast lived in the swampy cave where the Amymone spring lied, by lake Lerna. This location has some significance since it is south of Argos, a city holy to Hera, and this becomes a running theme with the Labors of Heracles. Accompanying Herc was his nephew, Iolaus and they both searched the swamps of Lerna for the cave of the seven headed serpent.

Sweet Cthulhu, someone must have poisoned the swamp

Finally they found the cave in which the serpent hid. Heracles coaxed the monster out by firing arrows at it. The horrible abomination left it's slimy cave and attacked Heracles. The beast's poison could kill in seconds, so Herc had to be careful not to get bit.

Why won't you DIE?!

Not the brightest bulb, charged the beast and started lopping heads off, but this turned out to be not the smartest of strategies, for every one head that Herc cut off, two would grow forth from the stump. But luck for him that it was bring your nephew to work day or else he would never had defeated the horrible monster. Iolaus told Herc to keep on swing his sword and every time he decapitated a head, Iolaus would fire a flaming arrow onto the stump, thus preventing the beast from regrowing heads. Finally, only the last head remained and Heracles sliced it's head off, but this head was immortal and could not be killed so Heracles buried it under a rock. After defeating the deadly Hydra, Heracles started to dip his arrowheads into the poisonous blood of the many headed beast. But Herc would be pissed when he came back, for Eurystheus added another labor since Heracles had help from his nephew, man what a troll.

Next Week: Part 3