Just as Theseus was the archetypical Hero of the Athenians, Herakles was the archetypical hero of all the rest of Greece. While Theseus was physically beautiful, immensely strong, of magnificent spirit and of brilliant intellect — Herakles has all the same attributes except for the last one. Athenians found intellect important. Country folk found it less so.

Herakles was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman of great beauty; Alcmena. Hence he was born a demi-god and a hero. Upon his death he became a full-fledged god and resides forever on Mount Olympus. He, like most other gods, demi-gods, heroes, etc., (not to mention countless mortal men) had wives, mistresses and numerous male lovers. Of these last, the most important were Iolaus, Hylas, King Eurystheus, and King Admetus.

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HERAKLES AND EURYSTHEUS

The major legends of Herakles concern The Twelve Labors. Although many people have some familiarity with The Twelve Labors most have a very uncertain knowledge as to why they were undertaken. And certainly, almost everyone has been made ignorant of the historio-literary fact that all the labors were undertaken by Herakles with Iolaus, his life long lover. Their story as lovers was relentlessly expunged from the legend by centuries of clerics and savants up to and including many 19th and early 20th century “scholars.” In modern recapitulations — be they written, in grade B movies, or on junk television — if Iolaus appears at all (very rarely) he is just Hercules’s buddy…his sidekick.

The real story goes like this…

Herakles, in a fit of madness in his youth — (one of the many curses jealous Hera (Juno) was forever visiting on Zeus’s lovers and their offspring) — committed a terrible crime. He killed some of his own and some of his brother Iphicles’s children. When his sanity returned he was in a state of terrible remorse. He went to Delphi to consult the oracle to learn what he must do to purify himself. The Pythoness told him that he must go into the service of King Eurystheus, ruler of Tyrins, for twelve years there to perform one labor a year that the king would prescribe. Doing the king’s bidding was the only way Herakles could expiate his sins. As soon as he arrived at the court of Tyrins the king made it clear that he would also be taking him to bed regularly.

There is a renaissance painting of Herakles’s arrival at the palace of Tyrins in which Herakles, standing naked in the middle of a throne room, is examined by the king. Eurystheus, in splendid raiment, has the flat of his hand on Herakles’s abdomen as if inspecting his new acquisition.

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HERAKLES AND IOLAUS (MOON BOULDER)

Iolaus, the typical, classical Greek “Kalos Kagathos” — a beautiful boy both in body and soul — was Harakles’s oldest nephew, son of Iphicles. The young man was allowed to go with Herakles into Eurystheus’s service and he became the demi-god’s life-long companion, charioteer, and major lover. Iolaus is with Harakles through all the labors and takes a crucial and heroic part in all of them. A shrine to Herakles and Iolaus was a center of worship of “The Hero Lovers” at Thebes for centuries. Soldiers of “The Sacred Band of Thebes” — the most elite military unit of the later Greek world — worshiped them as their “divine patrons.”
Parenthetically, there was a traditional eroto-romantic assumption concerning lordly knights and their charioteers.

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HERAKLES AND HYLAS (BOY OF THE WOODS)

King Theiodanas was ruler of a savage tribe living on the heights of Mount Parnassus above Delphi. Being barbarians and sacrilegious they frequently raided Delphi and defiled the sacred precinct of Apollo. Herakles was appointed to stop the desecration and he and Iolaus led a small war band from Tyrins to extirpate the savages.

The tribe of Theiodanas was virtually wiped out with Herakles doing most of the slaughter. But as the battle ended one lone, beautiful youth fought on in wild nakedness with only his spear to protect him. Herakles, falling in love at first sight, captured the boy, caused him to be spared, and took him as his personal slave. The master-slave relationship soon grew into one of mutual love and Herakles educated Hylas in all the manly arts. He became a second charioteer for Herakles often accompanying him and Iolaus on their endless adventures. Iolaus had no objection to Herakles taking yet another lover and implicit in the story is the suggestion of a heroic “ménage a trios.”

Hylas later became, along with Herakles and Iolaus, one of Jason’s Argonauts on the voyage to search for The Golden Fleece and it was during that journey that one of the most famous scenes of Greek legend took place.

The ship of the Argonauts, The Argo, was beached on an uninhabited island and Hylas was sent in search of fresh water.

The Argonauts did not know that the deep spring on this island was inhabited by beautiful and very powerful female water nymphs. When Hylas leaned down to taste the water to see if it was sweet, the lonely nymphs, seeing how beautiful he was, snatched him into their watery realm to keep him with them forever.

As it grew late Jason said they could wait no longer. Search parties came back saying there was no trace of Hylas. Herakles was desperate, praying to his father, The Father-God, Zeus. But no help came. Finally, when The Argo sailed Herakles would not go with them, but spent agonized days crashing through the woods, even standing on the edge of the spring crying out for Hylas. But the nymphs held him fast kissing and caressing his beautiful face and form. Herakles wept in the woods inconsolably. Weeks later, he made his way back to the arms of the faithful Iolaus.

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HERAKLES AND ADMETUS

The young King Admetus of Therae was an occasional, companionable lover of Herakles. (In modern times we might call them fuck-buddies.) Admetus also had a love affair with the god Dionysius (Bacchus).

Admetus appears and reappears throughout the adventures and wanderings of Herakles. But the most famous incident of their relationship occurred when Herakles — for the love he bore this friend, wrestled Hades (Death) to retrieve the life of Alcestis, Admetus’s wife. Herakles, having bested Hades, brought her back from Tartarus (The Underworld) to her over-joyed husband.

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