Hydra is the image of Satan and fallen angels over whom God's judgment is executed. The most ancient Mesopotamian image of this region was MUŠ, a huge serpent-dragon, and already on ancient Babylonian depictions the Lion is above it, trampling the Serpent, while the Crow stands on its tail and pecks at it. In the classical celestial composition, the Cup and the Crow are also directly on Hydra's back, and the Lion is above its head. A unified picture of the enemy's final defeat emerges: the Lion crushes the ancient Serpent, the Cup of God's wrath is over it, and the Crow participates in the destruction of its body.
Full interpretation
Verifiable historical, etymological and topographical statements are accompanied by sources. The theological conclusions are the project’s interpretation according to its published methodology.
Hydra is one of the largest constellations in the sky, but its most important feature is not its size, but an astonishingly ancient and persistent image of the Serpent. Before the Greek Lernaean Hydra, in Mesopotamia, at this place was MUŠ — a huge serpent-dragon. This image is attested as early as the second millennium BC and then enters MUL.APIN. It was represented as a gigantic serpentine creature with dragon elements; it was associated with chthonic, underworld deities.[Hunger & Pingree · MUL.APIN][Rogers · Origins][Вавилонские звёздные каталоги][Stellarium · MUL.APIN]
This is practically the same biblical series of images we already see in other constellations: the Dragon, the Whale, Scorpius, Hydra — various depictions of one hostile spiritual force, Satan and fallen angels. In Revelation, Satan is directly called both 'the great dragon' and 'the ancient serpent'. Therefore the ancient MUŠ fits particularly precisely into this line.[Kunitzsch & Smart][IAU · имена звёзд]
But the strongest testimony is given not only by Hydra itself, but by the whole composition around it. On surviving Babylonian depictions of the MUŠ-dragon, above it is placed the Lion; research reconstruction of the ancient image directly describes the Lion as trampling the Serpent. This fully corresponds to the biblical picture: Christ — the Lion of the tribe of Judah — finally crushes the power of the ancient Serpent.[Hunger & Pingree · MUL.APIN][Rogers · Origins][Вавилонские звёздные каталоги][Stellarium · MUL.APIN][Kunitzsch & Smart][IAU · имена звёзд]
Moreover, the Lion is located precisely near the head part of Hydra. So here again appears the most ancient prophecy of Genesis: the Seed of the woman shall strike the serpent's head. What begins in Gen. 3:15 as a promise is completed in Revelation with the final destruction of the dragon.[Kunitzsch & Smart][IAU · имена звёзд]
On Hydra's body lies the constellation of the Cup. It indeed forms with Hydra and the Crow one ancient classical celestial complex; the Cup literally stands on the Serpent's back. In a biblical sense, this is the Cup of God's wrath, which is poured out upon the kingdom of the beast and upon all who rebelled against God. Therefore Hydra is not merely under the Lion — the Cup of judgment is already placed over it.[Kunitzsch & Smart][IAU · имена звёзд]
Further along Hydra stands the Crow. Moreover, this connection is much older than the Greek myth: already in the Babylonian version, the constellation of the Crow is on the tail of the MUŠ-dragon and pecks at its end. In the Greek star chart, the Crow also stands with its feet on Hydra, and its beak is turned toward its body. This remarkably corresponds to the picture in Revelation, where after Christ's victory the birds of heaven gather for the final harvest of judgment upon God's adversaries.[Hunger & Pingree · MUL.APIN][Rogers · Origins][Вавилонские звёздные каталоги][Stellarium · MUL.APIN][Kunitzsch & Smart][IAU · имена звёзд]
Thus, around Hydra are concentrated three images of judgment at once:
The Lion — crushes the Serpent. The Cup — God's wrath is poured out upon it. The Crow — completes the destruction of the defeated enemy.
This makes Hydra one of the clearest depictions of the final fate of Satan and his kingdom. He is depicted as huge and extended, but already under the Lion, under the Cup of judgment, and under the bird of harvest. His power ends not with victory over God's people, but with God's sentence.[Kunitzsch & Smart][IAU · имена звёзд]