If You Fight [fill in the blank] it Will Get Stronger
Bookworm at Bookworm Room on Aug 03 2006 at 6:41 am | Filed under: Feature Article, The War on Terror
The Hydra of mythology was a fearsome multi-headed monster. One of its great strengths was the fact that, if you severed one of its heads, another head (or maybe more than one) would grow in its place. Nevertheless, the Hydra could be defeated. Here’s one version of how Hercules defeated the Hydra:
Heracles journeyed to Lake Lerna in a speedy chariot, and with him he took his nephew and charioteer Iolaus, in search of the dreaded Hydra. When they finally reached the Hydras’ hiding place, Heracles told Iolaus to stay with the horses while he drew the monster from its hole with flaming arrows. This brought out the hideous beast. Heracles courageously attacked the beast, flaying at each head with his sword, (in some versions a scythe) but he soon realized that as one head was severed another grew in its place. Heracles called for help from Iolaus, telling him to bring a flaming torch, and as Heracles cut off the heads one by one from the Hydra, Iolaus cauterized the open wounds with the torch preventing them from growing again. As Heracles fought the writhing monster he was almost stifled by its obnoxious breath, but eventually, with the help of Iolaus, Heracles removed all but one of the Hydras’ heads. The one remaining could not be harmed by any weapon, so, picking up his hefty club Heracles crushed it with one mighty blow, he then tore off the head with his bare hands and quickly buried it deep in the ground, placing a huge boulder on the top. After he had killed the Hydra, Heracles dipped the tips of his arrows into the Hydras’ blood, which was extremely poisonous, making them deadly.
The Hydra story popped into my head today when the mail brought the latest New Yorker. One of the lead stories, by Jon Lee Anderson, is entitled “THE BATTLE FOR LEBANON : Has Israel’s assault weakened Hezbollah—or made it stronger?” Let me state right away that I did not read the story. I found the title intriguing enough, since it repeats a trope that’s been around since America invaded Afghanistan immediately after 9/11. This is the theory emanating from the anti-War people that, by attacking our enemy, we galvanize formerly neutral, peaceable Muslims, who will instantly, unswervingly, and violently ally themselves with the terrorists.
Hydra of mythology, Heracles, Lake Lerna, Iolaus, New Yorker, Jon Lee Anderson, Hezbollah, America, Afghanistan, 9/11, Muslims
