Reflections: Anna Sapenuk on a Hydra Hydria
We\u2019ve asked members of the Getty community to share short reflections on works of art they\u2019re thinking about right now. These recordings feature stories related to our daily lives.\n\n\n\nThis week, educator Anna Sapenuk finds parallels in Herakles and Iolaos\u2019s fight against the Hydra and our global battle against the coronavirus. To learn more about this artwork, visit: https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/10600/.\n\n\n\nOver the next few weeks, look for new recordings every other Tuesday.\n\n\n\nJAMES CUNO: Hi, I\u2019m Jim Cuno, president of the J. Paul Getty Trust. In a new podcast feature, we\u2019re asking members of the Getty community to share short reflections on works of art they\u2019re thinking about right now. We\u2019ll be releasing new recordings every other Tuesday. I hope you\u2019ll find these stories about our daily lives\u2014from laundry on the line to a dog at a scholar\u2019s feet\u2014thought provoking, illuminating, and entertaining.\n\n\n\nANNA SAPENUK: Hello my name is Anna Sapenuk, and I'm an educator at the Getty Center and the Getty Villa. Lately, I've been thinking how relevant certain works of art are to the struggle of the coronavirus and us battling this multi-dimensional monster, so to speak. The work of art that I have in mind is this really wonderful hydria or water jug from the Getty Villa. It is one of my favorite pieces there.\n\n\n\nAnd the star of the show on this hydria is this Hydra or watersnake, this mythical watersnake, that is nine headed. And in antiquity, it was known to kill people, even with the smell coming from it.\n\n\n\nAnd on the hydria itself, the watersnake is coiling its body and its nine heads are emerging out of it, ready to strike. In this work of art, not only the watersnake is shown, but also there are two characters that are fighting with it. Those two figures are those of Herakles and his nephew Iolaos. And of course, you know, Herakles, he's a super strong mythological figure, and what he's doing is he's raising his club to take off one of Hydra\u2019s heads. And Iolaos, his nephew, kind of his henchmen, he has a sickle to cut one of the heads of the Hydra.\n\n\n\nBut the issue of the Hydra, much like the issue that we have with the coronavirus, is that, you know, if you cut one of his head, two heads grow in its place. So it's a very complex problem that they're dealing with and that we're dealing with today.\n\n\n\nSo they come up with a really smart solution to this problem. There\u2019s actually a flame, and they use the heat from the flame to cauterize where the heads were chopped off so that new heads don\u2019t grow in its place.\nAnd it's just immediately so connected, I feel, to our struggle with the coronavirus that is also a many-headed monster, in many ways, and we need so many different approaches to battle with it. Like we have to continue social distancing, and wear masks, and the vaccine is still in development.\n\n\n\nThese two heroes, Herakles and Iolaos, end up defeating the Hydra, and I hope that the same can be said for us and our fight with the coronavirus. I hope that we find those solutions that we're seeking, and that we defeat this many-headed monster in our own right.\n\n\n\nCUNO: To view this hydria, or water jug, featuring Herakles and Iolaos slaying the Hydra, made in Etruria around 520 to 510 BCE, click the link in this episode\u2019s description or look for it on getty.edu/art/collection.