A servant helped Hercules defeat the Hydra by applying a firebrand to each wound as Hercules cut off each of the creature's heads, preventing them from growing back. (PROSE: Mythical Monsters)
Behind the scenes[]
- In the traditional form of the myth, the young man who performs this task it is not a mere servant of Hercules, but his own nephew, Iolaus. Other tellings, including Plutarch, also suggest the two were lovers.