December 4 – The Hydra

speccoll
Wednesday 4 December 2019
The Hydra from Gesner’s Historiae animalium (1551-1558).

The serpentine water monster from Greek and Roman mythology, the Hydra, has a dog-like body and multiple heads – ranging from seven to nine – one of which is said to be immortal. One of the twelve labours of Heracles was to kill this deadly creature, though this depiction shows quite a kindly looking beast!

This illustration (without our festive additions) is taken from Swiss physician and naturalist Conrad Gesner’s zoological work Historiae animalium (1551-1558). His work attempted to describe the animal kingdom and was illustrated with beautiful woodcuts, which in many copies, like ours, are hand-coloured. Notably, the work also includes many animals we consider fictional, such as this hydra.

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One reply to "December 4 – The Hydra"

  • clcouch123
    clcouch123
    Wednesday 4 December 2019, 11.16pm

    The illustration is delightful! Maybe the hydra has to carry a bag with extra hats inside in case another head is added. Thank you!

    Reply

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