The First Iolausian Groupies

They were there with him...discover the first of the Groupies!

So what are the Iolausian Groupies, anyway?

I can hear you ask... Well, they are a band of seemingly ordinary people - possessing extraordinary and amazing powers of persuasion and the qualities of kindness and bravery, who just happened to be fond of Iolaus. They follow him on his adventures of myth and legend, and occasionally get involved, too. On the way, Iolaus has run into quite a few who could be considered in many ways to be Iolausian Groupies. The Groupies of today (See Dirce's Iolausian Groupie List) can look up to this special group of people for inspiration of an Iolausian style.

Lydia, a Threcian woman trapped in the same cave as Iolaus was thrown into in Pride Comes Before A Brawl, was in my opinion the first Groupie. Together she and Iolaus brave monsters, mud, (lol) rivers...and of course, a kiss.

Dirce is my favorite Groupie of all time. Her first appearance is in H:TLJ's Second Season opener, King of Thieves, which also introduces Autolycus into the show. She defends Iolaus from being executed for robbing treasures from her father's palace, of which he is innocent. She also shows up in The Wedding of Alcmene while Iolaus is enroute to contact Iphicles about taking over as king for Jason. And in Hercules On Trial, she returns to defend Hercules.

Leah joins our two heros on a quest to find the Sword of Veracity, under disguise as a follower of the Goddess Hestia. Of course, Iolaus is immediately madly in love with her (we groupies have that effect) but doesn't know that she is engaged to Amphion, the man they are helping by retrieving the sword. Only groupies could make Iolaus jump into a river...

In a favorite among the Groupies, The Apple, we have Thera. Under the spell of Aphrodite's golden apple, she falls madly in love with Iolaus and forgets all about her husband-to-be. But beware, if you touch the apple at the same time as another person, they become your eternal soulmate!

Along side Iolaus in King For a Day, Niobe and our hunter fall in love but cannot be together because of the difficult circumstances of their separate lives. When Orestes is killed in Long Live The King, Iolaus and Niobe continue to struggle with their feelings for each other. She is the Queen of the Groupies as far as I'm concerned.

The Goddess of Love and her affection towards "Curly" is well known among Iolausians. Whether learning how to shoot a bow ("Hunting sucks!") or tracking him down when he's not with Herc ("Hey, where's Curly?") she's always got something to say about him. Love Takes a Holiday is a prime example of what her meddling can do, but like his groupies, Iolaus can be very persuasive. Even goddesses aren't safe! :-)

Princess Melissa isn't exactly the most grateful person in the world to Iolaus or Hercules, and she shows it. A spoiled rotten person, she relentlessly insults Iolaus until he (you guessed it) throws her off of him into the river as they're crossing it. At the end though, she gives into his charms and thanks both our heros for all that they did to get her out of danger.

Nebula, both a queen and a pirate captain, first met up with Herc and Iolaus in Web of Desire. From the beginning she always liked the company of Iolaus, and the fling turned into something more with 5th Season's Faith. Driven to near insanity by Dahak in Darkness Rising, she had to reconvince herself that Iolaus was dead. She also helped in defeating the evil god so Iolaus' soul could rest. What would she have said in Revelations? Probably something like, "Only you could make it back this many times."

From when they first met in X:WP's Prometheus, Gabrielle and Iolaus have had a special connection like no other. She is also drawn to talk with him about Hercules in Judgement Day and he comes to her rescue in X:WP's The Quest while she is traveling to Amphipolis to lay Xena to rest. One of the most prestigious groupies, she has had her share of adventures with the hunter, and is also one of my favorite characters on either show.

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