Hylas
Encyclopedia : H : HY : HYL : Hylas
Engraving from the Cista Ficoroni, an Etruscan ritual vessel. Villa Borghese, Rome
(Digitally enhanced for visibility)
In Greek mythology, Hylas (Greek: Ύλας) was the son of King Theiodamas of the Dryopians. When Heracles killed his father in battle, he spared Hylas, took him on as arms bearer, taught him the ways of a warrior, and in time the two fell in love. Heracles took Hylas with him on the Argo, making him one of the Argonauts. At Hera's behest, Hylas was kidnapped by the nymph of the spring of Pegae in Mysia and vanished without a trace (Apollonius Rhodios). Heracles was heartbroken. He along with Polyphemus (not the cyclops Polyphemus), searched for a long time. The ship set sail without them. They never found Hylas because he had fallen in love with the nymphs and remained "to share their power and their love." (Gaius Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica)
Spoken-word myths - audio files
| The Heracles and Hylas myth as told by story tellers |
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| [1. Heracles and Hylas, read by Timothy Carter] |
| Bibliography of reconstruction: Homer, Odyssey, 12.072 (7th c. BCE); Theocritus, Idylls, 13 (350 - 310 BCE); Callimachus, Aetia (Causes), 24. Thiodamas the Dryopian, Fragments, 160. Hymn to Artemis (310 - 250? BCE); Apollonios Rhodios, Argonautika, I. 1175 - 1280 (c. 250 BCE); Apollodorus, Library and Epitome 1.9.19, 2.7.7 (140 BCE); Sextus Propertius, Elegies, i.20.17ff (50 - 15 BCE); Ovid, Ibis, 488 (8 CE - 18 CE); Gaius Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica, I.110, III.535, 560, IV.1-57 (1st c. C.E.); Hyginus, Fables, 14. Argonauts Assembled (1st c. CE); Philostratus the Elder, Images, ii.24 Thiodamas (170 - 245 CE); First Vatican Mythographer, 49. Hercules et Hylas |
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