The+Hydra

Dan Huber Lauren Wexler

=THE HYDRA (|ˈhīdrə|) =

 Information: [] [] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology_in_popular_culture#Hydra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_(constellation)

Pictures: [] [] [] [] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hydra_constellation_map.svg

The Hydra dates back to Greek Mythology, to a time where the great heroic Heracles lived his life as a champion fighting monsters 100X his size almost every day. His step-mother Hera drove him so mad that he was driven to kill his own children, a crime so heinous that he was sentenced to carry out the twelve labors. The second labor was to slay the mighty Hydra, a creation of Hera sent to destroy him. When the Hydra failed its mission, Hera put the creature in the sky as a constellation of stars to honor its memory; which is the largest of the 88 modern constellations.

The Hydra has many heads and was a serpent like water beast. It was known that The Hydra's main purpose was to serve as a guardian to guard the opening of the Underworld, under water. It is believed that if one of the heads was slain, two more would grow in its place. Its weakness was that only one of its heads was immortal. Hera's agent that assigned the labors upon him had claimed that this labour did not count because Heracles had help from his nephew, who brought him a blazing fireband to burn a neck after each head was removed.

Some notable movies where this mighty creature can be found within either physically or used as a term used to describe other items include Percy Jackson, Jason and the Argonats, Ellery Queen, Swordfish and of course the movie Hercules. Some video games include God of War, Age of Mythology, Magic Carpet 2, Spartan Total war, Titan Quest, Prototype, Sonny 2, Master of Magic, Kingdom Hearts 2, Bookworm Adventures, Quest For Glory 5 and Final Fantasy 7. It can also be found in books, Anime, music and even as rides at a few amusement parks across the globe.