Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index In Greek mythology, Iolaus was a son of Iphicles and thus a nephew of Heracles. He often acted as Heracles' charioteer. When Heracles was having trouble slaying the Hydra because of the regeneration of its many heads, Iolaus cauterized each neck as Heracles beheaded it, and enabled the Hydra to be killed. After Deianira killed Heracles, believing she was having an affair with Iole, Ioles lit Heracles' funeral pyre. Note: sometimes, this was Philoctetes instead. Ovid IX, 394. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.