Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 22
The Lernaean Hydra
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō22.1Paulō post iussus est ab Eurystheō Hydram necāre.
A little later he was ordered by Eurystheus to kill the Hydra.
22.2Hoc autem mōnstrum erat cui novem erant capita.
This was a monster which had nine heads.
Note. cui … erant capita: literally 'to which there were heads', i.e. 'which had heads'. This dative of possession is used with sum.
22.3Herculēs igitur cum amīcō Iolāō profectus est ad palūdem Lernaeam, in quā Hydra habitābat.
So Hercules set out with his friend Iolaus to the Lernaean swamp, in which the Hydra lived.
22.4Mox mōnstrum invēnit, et quamquam rēs erat magnī perīculī, collum eius sinistrā prehendit.
Soon he found the monster, and although the task was very dangerous, he seized its neck with his left hand.
Note. magnī perīculī: genitive of description, '(a matter) of great danger'.
22.5Tum dextrā capita novem abscīdere coepit; quotiēns tamen hoc fēcerat, nova capita exoriēbantur.
Then with his right hand he began to cut off the nine heads; but whenever he had done this, new heads sprang up.
Note. quotiēns … fēcerat: 'whenever he had done this'.
22.6Diū frūstrā labōrābat; tandem hōc cōnātū dēstitit.
For a long time he labored in vain; at last he gave up this attempt.
22.7Deinde arborēs succīdere et ignem accendere cōnstituit.
Next he decided to cut down trees and light a fire.
22.8Hoc celeriter fēcit, et postquam ligna ignem comprehendērunt, face ārdente colla adussit, unde capita exoriēbantur.
He did this quickly, and after the wood had caught fire, he burned the necks, from which the heads sprang up, with a blazing torch.
Note. unde = ex quibus, 'from which'.
22.9Nec tamen sine magnō labōre haec fēcit; vēnit enim auxiliō Hydrae cancer ingēns, quī, dum Herculēs capita abscīdit, crūra eius mordēbat.
But he did not do this without great effort; for a huge crab came to help the Hydra, and while Hercules was cutting off the heads, it kept biting his legs.
Note. auxiliō Hydrae: 'as a help to the Hydra', a double dative. mordēbat: 'kept biting'.
22.10Postquam mōnstrum tālī modō interfēcit, sagittās suās sanguine eius imbuit, itaque mortiferās reddidit.
After he had killed the monster in this way, he dipped his arrows in its blood, and so made them deadly.
Note. Latin has several words for kill: interficiō is general, necō suggests a cruel or unusual death, occīdō is usual for cutting someone down.
Vocabulary
| paulō, adv. | by a little, a little, somewhat |
| post, adv. | after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| necō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | put to death, slay, kill |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| mōnstrum, -ī, n. | wonder, monster |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| novem, indecl. adj. | nine |
| caput, capitis, n. | head |
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| amīcus, -ī, m. | friend |
| proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum | set out, depart, march |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| palūs, -ūdis, f. | swamp, marsh |
| Lernaeus, -a, -um | of Lerna, Lernean |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| habitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | dwell, inhabit |
| mox, adv. | soon |
| inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come upon, find |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| quamquam, conj. | however much, although |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| collum, -ī, n. | neck |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| sinistra, -ae, f. | left hand (manus understood) |
| prehendō, -hendere, -hendī, -hēnsus | seize |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| dextra, -ae, f. | right hand (manus understood) |
| abscīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsus | cut away or off |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| quotiēns (adv.) | how many times; as often as |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| novus, -a, -um | new; novissimus, last |
| exorior, -orīrī, -ortus | arise from, spring up, rise |
| diū, adv. | for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp |
| frūstrā, adv. | in vain |
| labōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | labor, toil |
| tandem, adv. | at length or last, finally |
| cōnātus, -ūs, m. | attempt, effort |
| dēsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | set down; leave off, desist, cease, stop |
| deinde, adv. | then, next |
| arbor, -oris, f. | tree |
| succīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsus | cut below or down |
| ignis, -is, m. | fire |
| accendō, -cendere, -cendī, -cēnsus | kindle, light |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| lignum, -ī, n. | wood |
| comprehendō, -prehendere, -prehendī, -prehēnsus | seize, catch |
| fax, facis, f. | torch, firebrand |
| ārdeō, ārdēre, ārsī, ārsus | be on fire, burn |
| adūrō, -ūrere, -ussī, -ūstus | set fire to, burn, scorch, sear |
| unde, adv. | whence |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| enim, conj. | for |
| auxilium, -ī, n. | help, aid |
| cancer, cancrī, m. | crab |
| ingēns, -gentis, adj. | huge, vast |
| dum, conj. | while, as; as long as; until |
| crūs, crūris, n. | leg |
| mordeō, mordēre, momordī, morsus | bite |
| tālis, -e | such |
| modus, -ī, m. | way, manner |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| sagitta, -ae, f. | arrow |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| sanguis, sanguinis, m. | blood |
| imbuō, -buere, -buī, -būtus | wet, soak, dip |
| itaque, adv. | and so, accordingly, therefore |
| mortifer, -fera, -ferum | death-bringing, deadly |
| reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give back, return, restore; render |