Iolaus

Family: Heraclids · Role: kinsman and protector of Heracles' children · First appears: Euripides, The Heraclidæ — Scene 1

Iolaus is a Heraclid, son of Iphiclus, nephew and former companion of Heracles. When Eurystheus drove Heracles’ children from Greece, Iolaus brought them to Athens as suppliants, seeking protection from Demophon while Copreus tried to drag him from the altar. He describes his duty as “keeping these his children under my wings, I preserve them, I myself being in want of safety.”

After learning that a noble-born virgin must be sacrificed to save the children and the city, Iolaus proposes choosing by lot, but Macaria freely gives her life and asks him to lead her to the sacrifice. She entrusts the children to him, saying, “We are your children; by your hands we were brought up,” and Iolaus continues to wait at the altar as a suppliant.

When the Heraclids march to battle, Iolaus fights beside Hyllus against Eurystheus’s Argive forces. Though an old man, he is changed into a young man, captures Eurystheus at the Scironian rocks, and brings him away in fetters; afterward, he and Hyllus set up a statue to commemorate their victory. He also recalls having served as Heracles’ shield-bearer, sailed with Theseus after the belt, and ravaged Sparta with Heracles.