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Hercules must now destroy this monster with its nine heads, of which one is immortal. His teacher warns him that conventional methods will not work for destroying one head causes two to grow in its place. In the stench of the Lernean swamp, Hercules tracks the foul beast to its lair and is forced to resort to firing arrows, dipped in burning pitch, to draw it out into the open. Provoked, the raging monster attacks Hercules and battle commences the hydra growing stronger, not weaker, with each assault. Hercules throws away his weapons, drops to his knees and raises the hydra aloft. In the pure air and sunlight, the monster looses its power and its nine heads drop, lifeless. Then Hercules is able to perceive the mystic head that is immortal. He cuts it off and buries it, still fiercely hissing, beneath a rock.
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North Africa/Middle East
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