Iŏlas, or Iolāus, a son of Iphiclus king of Thessaly, who assisted Hercules in conquering the hydra, and burnt with a hot iron the place where the heads had been cut off, to prevent the growth of others. See: [Hydra]. He was restored to his youth and vigour by Hebe, at the request of his friend Hercules. Some time afterwards, Iolas assisted the Heraclidæ against Eurystheus, and killed the tyrant with his own hand. According to Plutarch, Iolas had a monument in Bœotia and Phocis, where lovers used to go and bind themselves by the most solemn oaths of fidelity, considering the place as sacred to love and friendship. According to Diodorus and Pausanias, Iolas died and was buried in Sardinia, where he had gone to make a settlement at the head of the sons of Hercules by the 50 daughters of Thespius. Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 399.—Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 4.—Pausanias, bk. 10, ch. 17.——A compiler of a Phœnician history.——A friend of Æneas, killed by Catillus in the Rutulian wars. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 11, li. 640.——A son of Antipater, cup-bearer to Alexander. Plutarch.
Iolchos, a town of Magnesia, above Demetrias, where Jason was born. It was founded by Cretheus son of Æolus and Enaretta. Mela mentions it as at some distance from the sea, though all the other ancient geographers place it on the sea-shore. Pausanias, bk. 4, ch. 2.—Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 9.—Strabo, bk. 8.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 3.—Lucan, bk. 3, li. 192.
Iŏle, a daughter of Eurytus king of Œchalia. Her father promised her in marriage to Hercules, but he refused to perform his engagements, and Iole was carried away by force. See: [Eurytus]. It was to extinguish the love of Hercules for Iole that Dejanira sent him the poisoned tunic, which caused his death. See: [Hercules] and [Dejanira]. After the death of Hercules, Iole married his son Hyllus by Dejanira. Apollodorus, bk. 2, ch. 7.—Ovid Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 279.
Ion, a son of Xuthus and Creusa daughter of Erechtheus, who married Helice, the daughter of Selinus king of Ægiale. He succeeded on the throne of his father-in-law, and built a city, which he called Helice, on account of his wife. His subjects from him received the name of Ionians, and the country that of Ionia. See: [Iones] and [Ionia]. Apollodorus, bk. 1, ch. 7.—Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 1.—Strabo, bk. 7.—Herodotus, bk. 7, ch. 94; bk. 8, ch. 44.——A tragic poet of Chios, whose tragedies, when represented at Athens, met with universal applause. He is mentioned and greatly commended by Aristophanes and Athenæus, &c. Athenæus, bk. 10, &c.——A native of Ephesus, introduced in Plato’s dialogues as reasoning with Socrates.
Iōne, one of the Nereides.
Iōnes, a name originally given to the subjects of Ion, who dwelt at Helice. In the age of Ion the Athenians made a war against the people of Eleusis, and implored his aid against their enemies. Ion conquered the Eleusinians and Eumolpus, who was at their head; and the Athenians, sensible of his services, invited him to come and settle among them; and the more strongly to show their affection, they assumed the name of Ionians. Some suppose that, after this victory, Ion passed into Asia Minor, at the head of a colony. When the Achæans were driven from Peloponnesus by the Heraclidæ, 80 years after the Trojan war, they came to settle among the Ionians, who were then masters of Ægialus. They were soon dispossessed of their territories by the Achæans, and went to Attica, where they met with a cordial reception. Their migration from Greece to Asia Minor was about 60 years after the return of the Heraclidæ, B.C. 1044, and 80 years after the departure of the Æolians; and they therefore finally settled themselves, after a wandering life of about 30 years.
Iōnia, a country of Asia Minor, bounded on the north by Æolia, on the west by the Ægean and Icarian seas, on the south by Caria, and on the east by Lydia and part of Caria. It was founded by colonies from Greece, and particularly Attica, by the Ionians, or subjects of Ion. Ionia was divided into 12 small states, which formed a celebrated confederacy, often mentioned by the ancients. These 12 states were Priene, Miletus, Colophon, Clazomenæ, Ephesus, Lebedos, Teos, Phocæa, Erythræ, Smyrna, and the capitals of Samos and Chios. The inhabitants of Ionia built a temple, which they called Pan Ionium, from the concourse of people that flocked there from every part of Ionia. After they had enjoyed for some time their freedom and independence, they were made tributary to the power of Lydia by Crœsus. The Athenians assisted them to shake off the slavery of the Asiatic monarchs; but they soon forgot their duty and relation to their mother country, and joined Xerxes when he invaded Greece. They were delivered from the Persian yoke by Alexander, and restored to their original independence. They were reduced by the Romans under the dictator Sylla. Ionia has been always celebrated for the salubrity of the climate, the fruitfulness of the ground, and the genius of its inhabitants. Herodotus, bk. 1, chs. 6 & 28.—Strabo, bk. 14.—Mela, bk. 1, ch. 2, &c.—Pausanias, bk. 7, ch. 1.——An ancient name given to Hellas, or Achaia, because it was for some time the residence of the Ionians.
Iōnium mare, a part of the Mediterranean sea, at the bottom of the Adriatic, lying between Sicily and Greece. That part of the Ægean sea which lies on the coast of Ionia, in Asia, is called the sea of Ionia, and not the Ionian sea. According to some authors, the Ionian sea receives its name from Io, who swam across there, after she had been metamorphosed into a heifer. Strabo, bk. 7, &c.—Dionysius Periegetes.
Iōpas, a king of Africa, among the suitors of Dido. He was an excellent musician, poet, and philosopher, and he exhibited his superior abilities at the entertainment which Dido gave to Æneas. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 1, li. 744.
Iōpe and Joppa, now Jafa, a famous town of Phœnicia, more ancient than the deluge, according to some traditions. It was about 40 miles from the capital of Judæa, and was remarkable for a seaport much frequented, though very dangerous on account of the great rocks that lie before it. Strabo, bk. 16, &c.—Propertius, bk. 2, poem 28, li. 51.——A daughter of Iphicles, who married Theseus. Plutarch.