"Near the Equator rolls
The sparkling Hydra, proudly eminent,
To drink the Galaxy's refulgent sea;
Nearly a fourth of the encircling curve
Which girds the ecliptic his vast folds involve;
Yet ten the number of his stars diffused
O'er the long track of his enormous spires;
Chief beams his heart, sure of the second rank,
But emulous to gain the first."
According to mythology, the Hydra was a terrible monster that infested the Lake of Lerna, in the Peloponnesus. It was reported to have had a hundred heads, and, as soon as one of these was cut off, two grew in its place, unless the wound was stopped by fire.