InGreek mythology,Iphicles (/ˈɪfɪˌkliːz/ or/ˈaɪfɪˌkliːz/;Ancient Greek:ἸφικλῆςIphiklēs), also calledIphiclus, was thematernal half-brother ofHeracles and one of theCalydonian boar hunters.^[1]

Iphicles was the son ofAlcmene and her human husbandAmphitryon, whereas Heracles was her son byZeus. He also had a sister,Laonome, who marriedEuphemus orPolyphemus. Iphicles was the father of Heracles' charioteerIolaus by his first wife,Automedusa, daughter ofAlcathous.^[2] Afterwards, he fathered two children byPyrrha, the younger daughter ofCreon.^[3][4]

Iphicles was one night younger than his half-brother Heracles, who strangled the snakes which had been sent byHera or by Amphitryon, and at which Iphicles was frightened.^[5] Iphicles grew into a strong man but could not match his famous brother. When Heracles was made insane once again by Hera, the hero threw into the fire his brother's two offspring by Pyrrha, who perished as a result.

Nevertheless, Iphicles went with Heracles on a punitive expedition against Troy, because KingLaomedon refused to give Heracles the mares he had promised him before. Arriving in Troy, Iphicles andTelamon were sent by Heracles to the city to claim the mares, but they were thrown into prison by Laomedon. ButPriam, the son of the king, disagreed with the decision of his father, sent two swords to the two heroes, and revealed the plans that Laomedon had for Heracles. As soon as Iphicles and Telamon heard this they killed their guards with the swords and returned to Heracles for the plans of Laomedon to be revealed. Then Heracles and his men went to the king and eventually slew him.

When Heracles ended his twelve labours, King Eurystheus accused him of killing him from the throne, and ordered that he, together with Alcmene and Iphicles, leave Tiryns. This is how Iphicles ended up in Arcadia where he joined Heracles on a punitive expedition againstHippocoon ofSparta. In the ensuing battle, Iphicles was killed and Heracles was inconsolable over the death of his half-brother, and voluntarily went into exile to another city.^[6]

In some accounts, Iphicles fought in the first battle of Heracles against theEleans andAugeas, and was wounded by theMolionides ofElis. In a fainting condition, Iphicles was carried by his relatives toPheneus, home of his grandmotherLaonome, where he was carefully nursed byBuphagus, a citizen of Pheneus, and by his wife Promne. They buried him when he died of his wound and was honoured with aheroum.^[7]

• Apollodorus,The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website.
• Pausanias,Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
• Pausanias,Graeciae Descriptio.3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.