Greek Mythology Spotlight: Hydra

This horrid looking creature brought death and destruction to Greek Mythology. The hydra had eight heads, with the middle head being immortal. What would happen if you happened to cut off one of the heads in battle? It would grow back, every time. This fire breathing monster met Hercules in battle and it was one for the ages. In battle, Hercules used his club to knock off the heads of Hydra. Unfortunately for Hercules, each time Hercules would knock off a head, two more would grow back. Finally, Hercules used a torch and burned off the heads. This worked, but he still had to deal with the middle, immortal head. For this head, Hercules buried it under a rock, which sealed the victory for Hercules. Thought Hydra was now dead, its blood continued to cause problems. Arrow tips dipped in the blood of Hydra was very poisonous. In fact, Hercules accidentally killed Chiron, the good/wise centaur, with one of these arrows.