Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest
Questions, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey.
The Hydra, otherwise known as the Lernaean
Hydra, was a large, snake-like monster popular
in Greek Mythology.
In the mythology, it was eventually killed
by the divine hero Heracles.
And of course, in the 1997 Disney film, it
was slain by the golden-voiced Hercules.
But what if it was not a creature of myth
or a character in the best Disney film ever,
but it actually existed?
Let's explore.
If you want more What If videos, check out
our “Biggest What Ifs” playlist on the
channel.
Now get ready, it’s time to ask the question:
What if The Hydra was Real?
The Hydra has been depicted in a number of
different fictional worlds, each describing
slight differences.
Even within Greek mythology, there is some
disagreement as to the qualities of the Hydra.
Everyone knows about its ability to regrow
heads after one has been removed.
We’ve all seen Hercules; we’re hip to
the Hydra.
But various accounts tell of differing traits.
Images of the hydra have been found on bronze
fibulae dating back to 700 BC, showing a six-headed
beast.
However, in the writings of Alcaeus in 600
BCE, the creature had nine heads, while later
work by Simonides would claim it to have fifty.
Similarly, its ability to regenerate these
heads differs from writer to writer.
Some have it regaining two, some three, and
some don’t bother to specify.
So, in the face of this uncertainty, this
video will take the most commonly-known version
of this, where it begins with just one head,
and grows three new ones for each head that
is chopped off.
Because of Hercules rocks.
So, what would happen if this beast was actually
real?
Well, back in the day, it would be absolutely
terrifying, but quite avoidable.
The Hydra would be a significant danger and
would take a number of lives, but people would
be able to simply flee from it.
Most depictions of the hydra are not particularly
fast-moving, and while it would be tough to
pack up and leave your home, that’s a lot
better than getting eaten by the hydra.
Right, Herc?
This would cause ancient humans to become
more nomadic in areas inhabited by the Hydra.
You would want to be able to pick up and move
on little notice, to avoid the beast.
It’s likely that people would move far away
to escape it, but in ancient times, you couldn’t
just hop on a plane and jet off across the
world; travel took time.
This would have pretty significant effects
on history.
However, as fearsome as the beast would be,
eventually, technology would catch up to it.
But before we get into that, we should address
the elephant in the room.
If you’re up against a giant creature that
gains 3 heads every time you chop one off…
STOP CHOPPING OFF HEADS!
Otherwise, you’ll end up with this.
It’s true that in the mythology, the creature
was defeated by cauterizing the wounds of
chopped off heads.
But in reality, people would likely realize
that the way to deal with the beast would
be to attack the body and attempt to strike
its heart, rather than playing into its hands
by allowing it to gain more heads.
As I was saying, upon the invention of firearms
or explosives, we would likely be able to
kill the beast with ease, attacking from afar
and focusing on the body.
Not the heads.
It’s possible that this would actually occur
even sooner since there would be a good deal
of pressure to invent something that could
deal with the hydra.
By the industrial age, it’s likely that
humanity would be capable of killing the creature
with weaponry.
It’s even possible that we wouldn’t need
this kind of technology.
Humans have learned to deal with dangerous
beasts in a number of ways over the years.
One example that could be relevant to the
hydra is the way in which people indigenous
to North America, specifically those living
on the plains, would hunt buffalo.
These are animals that were very dangerous
to hunt the old fashioned way, but by causing
them to stampede off a cliff, the people were
able to collect the meat from their corpses
at the bottom.
Sadly, this is believed to have resulted in
a great deal of waste and depletion of resources,
but with the hydra, that wouldn’t be much
of a concern.
It’s even possible that early people, like
the ancient Greeks, would be able to kill
the beast without the use of heroes like Hercules
slash Heracles, using some sort of trap.
This could be very similar to the buffalo
technique, attempting to lure it off a cliff,
or it could involve trapping it inside a cave
by collapsing it around the beast.
It’s even possible that tricks wouldn’t
be necessary.
Ancient Greece had a number of powerful siege
weapons at its disposal, such as the catapult
and the ballista.
As long as they aimed for the body, and avoided
taking out the heads, there’s a good chance
they’d be able to kill the beast.
And now we return to our question: What if
The Hydra was Real?
Well, it really wouldn’t be that bad.
It would be scary, and some would die, but
humanity would likely be able to kill it regardless
of the time period.
It wouldn’t take long to realize that chopping
off one head caused it to grow more back,
and people would quickly learn to aim for
the body rather than the head.
So its many heads likely wouldn’t be an
issue, as long as the people weren’t as
stupid as Hercules.
Whether it was through traps, siege weapons,
industrial-era weaponry, or modern bombs and
firearms, humanity would likely find a way
to kill the beast without requiring any heroes.
Because it’s really not that hard to just
not chop its head off.
Thank you for watching Life’s Biggest Questions,
I hope this was interesting and informative,
and maybe even inspired you to look into it
further on your own.
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While you’re down there, let me know what
you’d do if you ran into the Hydra.
Until next time, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey
with Life’s Biggest Questions, wishing you
the best of luck, on your quest for answers.
