Hyllus- Greek HeroHero"Leader of the Heraclidae"

Son of Heracles

Hyllus was the eldest son of Heracles and Deianira. When Deianira, deceived by the dying centaur Nessus, sent Heracles the poisoned robe that consumed his flesh, it was Hyllus who carried his father's final instructions. Heracles commanded the grief-stricken Hyllus to marry Iole, the captive Oechalian princess whose beauty had provoked Deianira's jealousy. Hyllus obeyed.

After Heracles' death on the pyre at Mount Oeta and his apotheosis to Olympus, Hyllus became the leader of the Heraclidae — the descendants and followers of Heracles driven into exile by Eurystheus, king of Mycenae.

The Exile and Return of the Heraclidae

Eurystheus, who had imposed the twelve labors on Heracles, continued to persecute his children after the hero's death. The Heraclidae fled from city to city and found sanctuary in Athens, where the Athenians fought Eurystheus on their behalf and killed him.

After Eurystheus's death, Hyllus led the first attempt to return to the Peloponnese and reclaim the lands the Heraclidae believed were rightfully theirs. He consulted the oracle at Delphi, which told him to wait for "the third harvest" before attempting the return. Hyllus interpreted this as three years. The oracle meant three generations.

Single Combat and Death

Three years after the oracle's pronouncement, Hyllus marched with the Heraclidae toward the Peloponnese. At the Isthmus of Corinth, both sides agreed to settle the war in single combat: if Hyllus won, the Heraclidae would reclaim their lands; if he lost, they would withdraw for a hundred years. Hyllus fought Echemus, king of Tegea in Arcadia, and was killed. The Heraclidae withdrew as agreed. The Dorian Greeks who eventually conquered the Peloponnese three generations later traced their royal lines to Hyllus's descendants, and the Hylleis, one of the three traditional Dorian tribes, bore his name.