Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Iphicles ( or ; ''Iphiklēs''), also called Iphiclus, was the maternal half-twin brother of

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

and one of the Calydonian boar hunters.

Family

Iphicles was the son of

Alcmene In Greek mythology, Alcmene ( ; ) or Alcmena ( ; ; ; meaning "strong in wrath") was the wife of Amphitryon, by whom she bore two children, Iphicles and Laonome. She is best known as the mother of Heracles, whose father was the god Zeus. Alcmene ...

and her human husband

Amphitryon Amphitryon (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιτρύων, ''gen''.: Ἀμφιτρύωνος; usually interpreted as "harassing either side", Latin: Amphitruo), in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus, king of Tiryns in Argolis. His mother was named ...

, whereas Heracles was her son by

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

. He also had a sister, Laonome, who married Euphemus or Polyphemus. Iphicles was the father of Heracles' charioteer Iolaus by his first wife, Automedusa, daughter of Alcathous. Afterwards, he fathered two children by

Pyrrha In Greek mythology, Pyrrha (; ) was the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora and wife of Deucalion of whom she had three sons, Hellen, Amphictyon, Orestheus; and three daughters Protogeneia, Pandora and Thyia. According to some accounts, Hell ...

, the younger daughter of Creon.

Mythology

Iphicles was one night younger than his half-brother Heracles, who strangled the snakes which had been sent by

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

or by Amphitryon, and at which Iphicles was frightened. Iphicles grew into a strong man but could not match his famous brother. When Heracles was made insane once again by Hera, the hero threw into the fire his brother's two offspring by Pyrrha, who perished as a result. Nevertheless, Iphicles went with Heracles on a punitive expedition against Troy, because King Laomedon refused to give Heracles the mares he had promised him before. Arriving in Troy, Iphicles and Telamon were sent by Heracles to the city to claim the mares, but they were thrown into prison by Laomedon. But

Priam In Greek mythology, Priam (; , ) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra. Etymology Most scholars take the e ...

, the son of the king, disagreed with the decision of his father, sent two swords to the two heroes, and revealed the plans that Laomedon had for Heracles. As soon as Iphicles and Telamon heard this they killed their guards with the swords and returned to Heracles for the plans of Laomedon to be revealed. Then Heracles and his men went to the king and eventually slew him. When Heracles ended his twelve labours, King Eurystheus accused him of killing him from the throne, and ordered that he, together with Alcmene and Iphicles, leave Tiryns. This is how Iphicles ended up in Arcadia where he joined Heracles on a punitive expedition against Hippocoon of

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

. In the ensuing battle, Iphicles was killed and Heracles was inconsolable over the death of his half-brother, and voluntarily went into exile to another city. In some accounts, Iphicles fought in the first battle of Heracles against the Eleans and Augeas, and was wounded by the Molionides of Elis. In a fainting condition, Iphicles was carried by his relatives to Pheneus, home of his grandmother Laonome, where he was carefully nursed by Buphagus, a citizen of Pheneus, and by his wife Promne. They buried him when he died of his wound and was honoured with a heroum. Pausanias
8.14.9
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Notes

{{Reflist

References

* Apollodorus, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
Argonauts Perseids (mythology) Mythological Thebans Theban mythology Mythology of Heracles Divine twins Mythological Tirynthians