Ovid’s Bizarre Tales of Ageing

Iolaus, Callirhoe’s Sons and Miletus

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Ovid’s Metamorphoses is filled with strange, wonderful, and at-times disturbing stories. He touches upon all aspects of human life, its joys and sufferings, and on the role of the Fates and destiny in our lives.

The tales of Iolaus, Callirhoe’s sons and Miletus are no different, and can be found in Book IX of Ovid’s epic. They are, to put it delicately, incredibly dense. Whilst they only last a little over fifty lines in total, there is much to unpack and a lot of allusion to other mythology that make it difficult to follow (unless you happen to know a lot about the legend of the founding of Thebes). Within these lines, we see reflections of destiny, age, sibling rivalry, madness, and more, so let’s dive in.

Iolaus Has Been Renewed (IX. 395–403)

Alcmena, the mother of Hercules, is speaking with Iole (wife of Hyllus, the son of Hercules and Deianira, making her Alcmena’s Granddaughter-in-law) are speaking about their woes when a fresh-faced and young Iolaus arrives at their home.

Now, Iolaus is the son of Iphicles and Automedusa (Iphicles is the half-brother of Hercules and the son of Alcmena and Amphitryon, making him the nephew of Hercules and uncle-in-law to Iole).