Hercules overwint de Hydra van Lerna 1563

Cornelis Cort created this engraving of Hercules and the Hydra in the Netherlands sometime in the 16th century. Hercules' battle with the Hydra of Lerna can be interpreted as a victory of civilization over primal chaos. The setting is not idealized: the hero fights amongst an army of crabs while a fortress looms in the background. Myth here plays a political role: in an era of emerging centralized power, the Dutch drew strength from the idea of a strongman defeating a monster. The meaning of Hercules as an allegory of wise rule would have been reinforced by the fact that Cort based his image on a drawing by Frans Floris, whose classicizing style was embraced by the Habsburg rulers of the Netherlands. Hercules was one of their favourite symbols, but the Dutch would eventually rebel against what they saw as Habsburg tyranny. To understand this work more fully, historians would need to research the political uses of classical mythology in the 16th century. In that way we see how the meaning of art is rooted in social context.