Editing Heracles (section)

===Men===
{{Primary sources section|find=Heracles|find2=male lovers|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Hercules and Iolaus mosaic - Anzio Nymphaeum.jpg|thumb|Heracles and [[Iolaus]] (Fountain mosaic from the [[Anzio]] Nymphaeum)]]

Many myths were later 'homosexualized' after the development of the ancient Greek practice of [[pederasty]] and athletic nudity c. 630 BC.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Verstraete |first=Beert C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ejPZu3Ktu5cC&pg=PA17 |title=Same-sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in the Classical Tradition of the West |date=2005 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-1-56023-604-7 |language=en}}</ref> [[Plutarch]], in his ''Eroticos,'' maintains that Heracles's male lovers were beyond counting. Of these, the one most closely linked to Heracles is the [[Thebes, Greece|Theban]] [[Iolaus]]. According to a myth thought to be of ancient origins, Iolaus was Heracles's charioteer and squire. Heracles in the end helped Iolaus find a wife. Plutarch reports that down to his own time, male couples would go to Iolaus's tomb in Thebes to swear an oath of loyalty to the hero and to each other.<ref>Plutarch, ''Erotikos,'' 761d.The tomb of Iolaus is also mentioned by Pindar.</ref><ref>Pindar, ''Olympian Odes,'' 9.98–99.</ref> He also mentions [[Admetus]], known in myth for assisting the [[Calydonian boar hunt]], as one of Heracles's male lovers.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Erotikos,'' 761e.</ref><ref name=advo>{{cite news |url= https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/art/2013/08/14/golden-age-denial-hercules-bisexual-demigod?pg=8  |title= The Golden Age of Denial: Hercules, the Bisexual Demigod |date=14 August 2013 | publisher= Advocate | author= Christopher Harrity  | access-date= 6 February 2021}}</ref>

One of Heracles's male lovers, and one represented in ancient as well as modern art, is [[Hylas]], who sailed with Heracles on the [[Argo]].<ref>[[Theocritus]], ''Idyll'' 13; [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], ''Argonautica,'' 1.1177–1357.</ref><ref name=advo/>

Another reputed male lover of Heracles is Elacatas, who was honored in [[Sparta]] with a sanctuary and yearly games, Elacatea. The myth of their love is an ancient one.<ref>Sosibius, in [[Hesychius of Alexandria]]'s ''Lexicon''</ref>

[[Abdera, Thrace|Abdera]]'s eponymous hero, [[Abderus]], was another of Heracles's lovers. He was said to have been entrusted with—and slain by—the carnivorous mares of Thracian [[Mares of Diomedes|Diomedes]]. Heracles founded the city of Abdera in [[Thrace]] in his memory, where he was honored with athletic games.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] 2.5.8; [[Ptolemaeus Chennus]], 147b, in [[Photios I of Constantinople|Photius]]'s ''Bibliotheca''</ref>

Another myth is that of [[Iphitus]].<ref>Ptolemaeus Chennus, in Photius's ''Bibliotheca''</ref>

Another story is the one of his love for [[Nireus]], who was "the most beautiful man who came beneath Ilion" (''[[Iliad]]'', 673). But Ptolemy adds that certain authors made Nireus out to be a son of Heracles.<ref>Ptolemaeus Chennus, 147b.</ref>

[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] makes mention of [[Sostratus of Dyme|Sostratus]], a youth of Dyme, [[Achaea]], as a lover of Heracles. Sostratus was said to have died young and to have been buried by Heracles outside the city. The tomb was still there in historical times, and the inhabitants of Dyme honored Sostratus as a [[hero]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'', 7. 17. 8</ref> The youth seems to have also been referred to as [[Polystratus]].

A series of lovers are only known in later literature. Among these are [[Eurystheus]], [[Adonis]],<ref name="PC">[http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photius_copyright/photius_05bibliotheca.htm#190 Ptolemaeus Chennus, ''New History''], as summarized in [[Bibliotheca (Photius)]]</ref> [[Corythus]],<ref name="PC" /> [[Argus (Greek myth)|Argus]],<ref>[[Photius]], ''Bibliotheca'' excerpts, [https://topostext.org/work/237#190.14 190.14]</ref> and [[Nestor (mythology)|Nestor]] who was said to have been loved for his wisdom. In the account of [[Ptolemaeus Chennus]], Nestor's role as lover explains why he was the only son of [[Neleus]] to be spared by the hero.<ref>Ptolemaeus Chennus, 147e; [[Philostratus III|Philostratus]], ''Heroicus'' 696, per Sergent, 1986, p. 163.</ref><ref name=hapo>{{cite web |url= https://gh.ciwanekurd.net/4177-who-were-hercules-male-lovers.html  |title= Who were Hercules' male lovers? |date=  | publisher= History and archeology news portal  | author=   | access-date= 6 February 2021}}</ref>

A [[scholia]]st commenting on [[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollonius]]'s ''[[Argonautica]]'' lists the following male lovers of Heracles: "Hylas, [[Philoctetes]], [[Diomus (mythology)|Diomus]], [[Perithoas]], and [[Phrix]], after whom a city in [[Libya]] was named".<ref>[[Scholia]] on [[Apollonius Rhodius]], ''Argonautica'', 1. 1207</ref> Diomus is also mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium as the eponym of the [[deme]] [[Diomeia]] of the Attic [[phyle]] Aegeis: Heracles is said to have fallen in love with Diomus when he was received as guest by Diomus's father Collytus.<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]] s. v. ''Diomeia''</ref> Perithoas and Phrix are otherwise unknown, and so is the version that suggests a sexual relationship between Heracles and Philoctetes.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}