Iolaus
by Ignazio Caloggero
Heracles and Iolaus. Mosaic from the XNUMXst century BC, exhibited at the Nymphaeum of Anzio in Rome
Reference page: Repertory of Cults and Myths
The myth is linked to that of Heracles (Hercules)
Origins of the Myth
Iolaus was an ancient Theban hero, his cult spread to Athens, where he underwent a transformation by being downgraded to the nephew of Heracles (son of his half-brother Iphicles) to whom he will tie his destiny as a faithful companion in almost all his adventures. Iolaus became the charioteer of Heracles' war chariot, also winning the chariot race in the first Olympic Games established by Heracles. Iolao was sent by Heracles to colonize Sardinia together with the Tespids (the sons that Heracles had had from the daughters of King Thespes).
Once the colonization of Sardinia was completed, Ialos brought Daedalus from Sicily and had him build many works called “Dedaleia” [1] . The cult of Iolaus in Sardinia is evidenced by the fact that one of the indigenous peoples of Sardinia was called Iolei [2].
Before his return to Greece from Sardinia, Ioalo returned to Sicily where he lived for a long time.
Ioalo was faithful to Heracles even after his death, it was he who killed Eurystheus who was persecuting the Heraclides (the sons and descendants of Heracles). For the occasion, Heracles himself, who had now become a divinity and Hebe, gave him strength and youth.
The myth in Sicily
We find Ioalo in Sicily, alongside Heracles and in Agira, a temple dedicated to him was built at the behest of Hercules. Diodorus Siculus (Lib. IV.24) tells how by order of Hercules himself, in Agira they were offered annually to Iolaus, and that he was venerated as a god to whom young people sacrificed their hair, after having let it grow from birth.
Diodorus Siculus also tells how the young people who did not perform the usual sacrifices in honor of Iolaus, lost their speech and became similar to the dead, while those who, being already sick, honored Iolaus with their own sacrifices, regained strength by recovering from their ailments.
Religious syncretism
Ciaceri tells how in modern times, in Agira, there was the custom of sacrificing one's hair to St. Philip (the patron saint of the city) who, in a syncretic way, replaced Iolaus, the faithful friend of Hercules [3].
Saint Philip was born in Thrace, a Balkan region towards the end of the 5th century. He was a priest and exorcist, and was sent to carry out his work in Sicily. He became famous for his miracles and in particular for his role as an exorcist. Saint Philip died at the age of 63, on 12 May of an unspecified year in the second half of the 6th century. A church was built on the site of his death and later a monastery. Agira took the name of Saint Philip of Agira, a name it maintained until 1939, the year in which it returned to being referred to only by the name of Agira. The Saint, in addition to Agira, is particularly venerated in Calatabiano and the feast dedicated to him is recounted by Pitrè [4].
Fazello recounts, in an extremely detailed way, his visit to Agira, which took place in the year 1541 on the occasion of the Feast of St. Philip and the miracles he himself witnesses, in particular the miracles of St. Philip and the mass exorcisms that took place during his party.
“It was the year 1441 in Argyra, on the day of the feast of St. Philip, where I had gone with many others out of devotion, and I found that nearly two hundred possessed women had been brought there. And it was a marvelous thing to see how, not by themselves, but driven by the Devil, they committed a thousand mad acts, uttering voices and shrieks, more than human, and most horrible, and how without any shame they threw away their clothes, tore their hair, gnashed their teeth, twisted their mouths and eyes, foamed at the mouth, raised their arms and their whole body with great force, swollen their tongues, their throats, and the veins of the throat, and finally showed throughout their whole person an unheard-of and very great fury. I heard some speaking in Greek, some in Latin, and some pronouncing the Saracen language perfectly, and their speech was so pure and delicate that it would perhaps not have been possible to hear it in those who had spent a long time learning those languages.” [5]
If young people were awakened from their deathlike sleep by prayers to Iolaus, St. Philip has the power to wake people up at the precise time they wish.
“They have to do nothing but first recite to him a paternoster and the following prayer, where the time indicated by the devotee is marked with dots:
Sal Filippo d'Argirò
I sleep and you don't;
I sleep and you watch,
Dumani to…. Hurry up to me” [6]
Excerpt from the book “ Myths of Ancient Sicily” by Ignazio Caloggero ISBN:9788832060157 © 2022 Centro Studi Helios srl
[1] Diodorus Siculus. Book IV. 30. The term “Dedaleia” today refers to the Nuragic towers from the Bronze Age still visible in Sardinia.
[2] The Iliei (or Iolei) people were a Nuragic people (2nd millennium BC) of central-southern Sardinia
[3] Ciaceri Emanuele: Cults and Myths of Ancient Sicily p. 287
[4] Giuseppe Pitrè. Patronal Feasts in Sicily XXIV
[5] Tommaso Fazello: The two decades of the History of Sicily. First Decade, Tenth Book
[6] Giuseppe Pitrè. Patronal Feasts in Sicily XXIV
