In Greek mythology, Iolaus (; Ancient Greek: Ἰόλαος ''Iólaos'') was a Theban divine hero. He was famed for being Heracles' nephew and for helping with some of his Labors, and also for being one of the

Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, '' Argo'', ...

Family

Iolaus was the son of Iphicles and

Automedusa Alcathous (; grc, Ἀλκάθοος) was in Greek mythology the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and brother of Atreus and Thyestes In Greek mythology, Thyestes (pronounced , gr, Θυέστης, ) was a king of Olympia. Thyestes and his broth ...

, daughter of King Alcathous of

Megara Megara (; el, Μέγαρα, ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, befo ...

. He married Megara, and through her became the father of a Leipephilene. Through this daughter, Iolaus was considered to have fathered the mythic and historic line of the kings of Corinth, ending with

Telestes ''Telestes'' is a genus of cyprinid fish. It was formerly usually included in ''Leuciscus''. Species There are currently 14 recognized species in this genus:Bogutskaya, N.G., Zupancic, P., Bogut, I. & Naseka, A.M. (2012): Two new freshwater fis ...

Mythology

Relationship with Heracles

Iolaus often acted as Heracles' charioteer and companion. Plutarch, describing the Theban Sacred Band in his life of

Pelopidas Pelopidas (; grc-gre, Πελοπίδας; died 364 BC) was an important Theban statesman and general in Greece, instrumental in establishing the mid-fourth century Theban hegemony. Biography Athlete and warrior Pelopidas was a member of a ...

, said "It is a tradition likewise that Iolaus, who assisted Hercules in his labours and fought at his side, was beloved of him; and Aristotle observes that, even in his time, lovers plighted their faith at Iolaus's tomb."

Adventures

Iolaus provided essential help to Heracles in his battle against the

Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...

, his second labor. Seeing that Heracles was being overwhelmed by the multi-headed monster (the Lernaean Hydra), who grew two heads in place of each one cut off, Iolaus helped by

cauterizing Cauterization (or cauterisation, or cautery) is a medical practice or technique of burn (injury), burning a part of a body to remove or close off a part of it. It destroys some tissue in an attempt to mitigate bleeding and damage, remove an undes ...

each neck as Heracles beheaded it. Heracles gave his wife,

, age thirty three, to Iolaus, then only sixteen years old – ostensibly because the sight of her reminded him of his murder of their three children. They had a daughter, Leipephilene. He was one of the Heraclidae. In Sophocles' ''Philoctetes'',

Philoctetes Philoctetes ( grc, Φιλοκτήτης ''Philoktētēs''; English pronunciation: , stress (linguistics), stressed on the third syllable, ''-tet-''), or Philocthetes, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Poeas, king of Meliboea (Magnes ...

was given Heracles' bow and arrow as reward for lighting the funeral pyre. According to

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, Iolaus was sent by Heracles to Sardinia, together with nine of the sons that he had with the fifty daughters of Thespius (the

Thespiades In Greek mythology, Thespius (; Ancient Greek: Θέσπιος ''Théspios'') or Thestius (; Ancient Greek: Θέστιος)Pausanias, 9.27.7 was a legendary founder and king of Thespiae, Boeotia. His life account is considered part of Greek mythology ...

), to colonize the island, giving rise to the Iolei people. Iolaus and the Thespians were buried in Sardinia. Aristotle said that Sardinia had practiced the rite of incubation, which is the liberation ritual of the people who were affected by nightmares and obsessions. These rituals included that the persons suffering from nightmares should sleep next to the tombs of heroes. Simplicius of Cilicia adds, in the eight books of the Commentaries Aristotle, that "the places where they were deposited and preserved corpses of the nine heroes that Heracles got from the Thespians and who came to Sardinia with the colony of Iolaus, became the famous oracles."

Solinus Solinus may refer to: * Gaius Julius Solinus, a 3rd century Latin author * Solinus (horse), a British racehorse (1975–1979) * Solinus, Duke of Ephesus, a character in William Shakespeare's play ''The Comedy of Errors'' See also * Salinas (disam ...

says: "The Iolians, so named by him (Iolaus), added a temple to his tomb, because he had freed Sardinia from many ills".

Legacy

The Theban gymnasium was named after Iolaus and the ''Iolaia'' or ''Iolaea'' ( el, Ιολάεια), an athletic festival consisting of gymnastic and equestrian events, was held yearly in Thebes in his honor. The victors at the ''Iolaea'' were crowned with garlands of myrtle. A genus of

Lycaenid Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...

butterfly has been named after him. An

exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...

around star HAT-P-42 (now named Lerna) is named after him as part of the IAU's NameExoWorlds project.

Notes

External links

{{Commons category-inline Argonauts Male lovers of Heracles Theban characters in Greek mythology Characters in Greek mythology Theban mythology Mythology of Heracles