Brand Identity

The engineering discipline "hydraulics" comes from the Greek hudor "water" + aulos "pipe". Our main hydraulic design product "AULOS" (pronounced in English to rhyme with the names "PAUL" + "LOSS") derives from that origin. Our company name "HYDRA" links with hudor, but also pays tribute to Hercules, perhaps the prototype hydraulic engineer!

As well as sorting out the water monster called Hydra (probably a troublesome swamp with its associated deadly fevers), many other famous feats of Hercules (or Herakles) are directly related to water. His mother is supposed to have commented that "Hercules is always digging ditches", which might sound oddly familiar to some of us! Whether this was true or not, he is known throughout antiquity for his swamp-draining efforts. For more background see

Votive relief of Herakles killing the Lernean Hydra from Lerna, 3rd century B.C. (Athens, National Archaeological Museum).

http://www1.hollins.edu/faculty/saloweyca/Saloweytext.htm

He also had several cities named after him in recognition of services rendered during his travels. For example, he saved the ancient main port at the mouth of the Nile from flooding after a collapse of the city dikes, after which the city was known as Herakleion. For more background see http://www.e-telescope.gr/en/cat05/art05_010610.htm
	Ruins from the sunken city in the Nile Delta named Herakleion which was believed to be named after Hercules.

It would seem his services are again badly needed in places like Tauranga and New Orleans!