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The Hydra, slain by Heracles with the help of his charioteer, Iolaus. Scene from Wrath of the Gods.


Iolaus (eye-oh-LAY-us). Son of Iphicles who helped Heracles slay the Hydra. Iolaus was his uncle Heracles's charioteer. When in the course of one of his Labors the great hero sought the Hydra in the swamps of Lerna, Iolaus conveyed him there in his chariot. And when Heracles discovered that hacking off any one of the Hydra's multiple heads caused two more to grow in its place, Iolaus came to his rescue. Each time a head was lopped, he cauterized the monster's neck with a torch before the others could sprout.