- Iolaus
:"For the
butterfly genus , see "Iolaus (butterfly) .In
Greek mythology , Iolaus (in Greek, "Ἰόλαος") was a Theban divine hero, son ofIphicles , brother ofHeracles andAutomedusa . He was famed for beingHeracles ' nephew and for helping with for some of his Labors. Through his daughterLeipephilene he was considered to have fathered the mythic and historic line of the kings ofCorinth , ending with Telestes.A species of butterfly has been named after him.
Relationship with Heracles
As a son of
Iphicles , Iolaus was a nephew of Heracles. He often acted as Heracles' charioteer and companion.The Theban gymnasium was also named after him, and the "Iolaeia," an athletic festival consisting of gymnastic and equestrian events, was held yearly in Thebes in his honor. [Pindar, "Olympian Ode," VIII, 84] The victors at the "Iolaea" were crowned with garlands of
myrtle . [Pindar , "Isthmian Ode" IV.]Iolaus provided essential help to Heracles in his battle against the Hydra, his second labor. Seeing that Heracles was being overwhelmed by the multi-headed monster, who grew two heads in place of each one cut off, Iolaus sprang to help, cauterizing each neck as Heracles beheaded it.
Heracles gave his wife, Megara, age thirty three, to Iolaus, then only sixteen years old [Plutarch, "Moralia" "The Dialogue on Love / Erotikos / Amatoria" Loeb edition, V. XII P.339] – ostensibly because the sight of her reminded him of his murder of their three children. They had a daughter,
Leipephilene . He was one of theHeraclidae . [Ovid Metamorphoses IX, 394.]Upon Heracles' death, Iolaus lit the funeral pyre, though according to some mythographers, this was
Philoctetes instead.Television
Iolaus was a main character in the syndicated television series "", played by
Michael Hurst . In this series he was simply a traveling companion, almost a sidekick. The character as portrayed in the series occasionally eclipsed Hercules. In "Young Hercules ", Iolaus was played byDean O'Gorman .Notes
See also
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
