Hylas
Hylas (Greek Ὕλας) is a male figure from the Argonauts saga of Greek mythology .
myth
Hylas was the youthful and very beautiful Eromenos of Heracles , whom he constantly accompanied. Hylas stayed with Heracles as an arms bearer when he joined the Argonauts. Together they looked for the Golden Fleece .
The ways of Hylas and Heracles parted in Asia Minor on the coast of Mysia : while fetching water, nymphs pulled Hylas into their source pond. Heracles searched for him long and unsuccessfully. Because the Argonauts did not want to wait, they moved on without Heracles. In another version of this myth , Heracles leaves the Argonauts to look for Hylas. In later times the Mysians searched for Hylas once a year.
Picture theme
The pictorial theme of the "Abduction of Hylas by the Nymphs" was - mainly because of its erotic implications - very popular in the mosaic art (and perhaps also in painting) of the Roman period. From the 17th to the 19th century, several Central European paintings were again created on this theme.
literature
- Konrad Seeliger: Hylas . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 1,2, Leipzig 1890, Col. 2792-2796 ( digitized version ).
