Arpad Bojtos chose this myth for a very important reason. It is much more than a simple story about a hero fighting a monster.The Hydra represents a special kind of problem: every time you solve one part of it, two new problems grow in its place.

This is a challenge that gets bigger and more complicated the harder you try to fight it with force alone.In this story, pure strength becomes useless. To win, Hercules needed to be both strong and smart. He had his nephew, Iolaus, use fire to burn the monster's necks after he cut off the heads. This clever plan stopped them from growing back. Victory required a combination of muscle and mind.

The main lesson is that to defeat a challenge that seems impossible, you need wisdom and persistence just as much as you need power. This is a powerful idea that you will find again and again in Arpad Bojtos's art.

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Bojtos's connection to the ancient past is also clear in the materials he chooses. He has a deep respect for mammoth ivory, which comes from an animal that lived thousands of years ago. This ancient material is a signature part of his masterpieces, such as Captain Cook, Jaguar Hunter, Fallen Angels, and The Conquest of Constantinople.

In the Hercules and Hydra knife, however, Bojtos takes this idea to a new level. Here, the materials are not just for decoration. Each one was chosen for its special meaning and becomes an important part of the story. The different materials help to tell the epic tale of the struggle between power, intelligence, and an unbreakable will.

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In Greek mythology, the tale of Hercules and the Hydra defined our collective imagination of the "endless struggle" for centuries to come: a hero of superhuman might confronting a multi-headed serpent whose heads, upon being severed, would endlessly regenerate.
It is a story of will against despair, born from a darkened swamp.

Every element of the narrative the straining muscles of the hero, the coiling mass of the beast, the searing torch held by his nephew, Iolaus revolves around this central theme:
a seemingly endless battle.

But what if a contemporary master decided to retell this story of struggle using a completely different language—not of epic verse and oral tradition, but of ancient media and solidified form?

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The Apex of Ivory: The Triumph of Strategy — Iolaus
The artist places the battle's turning point, Iolaus, at the work's apex. The sickle signifies "destruction" (the severing),
while the torch embodies "purification" (the cauterizing).
The symbolism is profound,
representing the triumph of Strategy and Collaboration over pure Brute Force. Victory is achieved not by might alone, but through intellect.

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The Heart of Metal: The Epic Conflict — Will Against the Void
The artist stages the core conflict in the work's metallic heart.
The hero's taut physique embodies "unyielding Will,"
while the Gorgon-like face he crushes personifies "regenerating Despair."
The symbolism is metaphysical: a duel between Will and the Void, a spiritual battle to contain an all-consuming chaos.

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The Foundation of Ivory: The Forgotten Foe — Karkinos
This crab is Karkinos, an oft-overlooked yet vital character from the myth.
Despatched by the goddess Hera to assail Hercules's foot and divert his focus, the creature was crushed.
For its fealty, Hera immortalized the crab in the stars as the constellation Cancer.

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Features:
This is a second knife from the planned series of 12 Hercules.

The struggle of Hercules and the Hydra is carved in the steel,“the eyes of the Hydra are inlayed with gold”
On the ivory handle is carved the figure of Iolaos, the friend of Hercules, who helped Hercules defeat the Hydra by handling him a torch to cauterize the severed appendage of the Hydra. In the end of the sheath is the crab, which helped the Hydra by pinching Hercules feet