So why does the HYDRA symbol look more like an octopus (albeit with a human skull)? Looks more like it has lots of tentacles than heads. I'm just sayin'.
There's a theory that octopuses might have been responsible for inspiring the myth of the Lernean Hydra.
- They live in water but can travel on land like the Hydra.
- They're extremely strong and have been known to crush barrels to get at food inside.
- Some of them can intentionally detach an arm, and the arm will continue to wriggle around autonomously as a distraction to predators.
- Their limbs can be regenerated like the Hydra's heads.
- Some of them are extremely venomous like the Hydra (Heracles dipped his arrows in the venom).
- They wrap their arms around their prey like the Hydra did with its heads.
- They have eight legs and one central head, matching most descriptions of the nine headed (eight mortal tentacle-like heads and one central immortal head) Hydra.
- Octopuses might have also inspired the Gorgon Medusa in Greek myth, the Kraken in Norse myth, the Akkorokamui in Ainu myth in Japan/Russia, and is part of the Hawaiian creation myth.
So in that regard, it actually makes some sense to have an octopus represent HYDRA.
Plus, octopuses have long been associated with far-reaching, all-seeing, and sometimes oppressive organizations with their hands in everything (see below, a satellite logo from the National Reconnaissance Office):
