Diodorus Siculus Biblioteca, 4.31
Megara.

Heracles completed the labors then made his wife Megara live with Iolaus, because he was uneasy about conceiving children by her — the misfortune surrounding their other children weighed on his mind. Thus he sought out for himself another wife for surprise-free procreation of children. In this wise he courted Iole, the daughter of king Eurytus of Oechalia. But Eurytus was wary because of the misfortune that had befallen Megara, and said that he would think about the marriage. When Heracles failed in the courtship he felt disgraced and killed Eurytus’ horses. When Iphitus, Eurytus’ son, was suspicious of what had transpired and went to Tiryns in search of the horses, Heracles forced him up a lofty tower and compelled him to report whether or not he could see the horses grazing anywhere. And when Iphitus could not see them, Heracles said that he was bearing false witness about the theft and hurled the boy down from the tower. Sickened by this boy’s death, Heracles went to visit Neleus in Pylos and bade him to cleanse him of the murder. Neleus took counsel with his sons and learned that all his sons, except the youngest Nestor, advised him to reject the purification. Heracles then journeyed to Deiphobus, Hippolytus’ son, and persuaded him to purify him; however, when he was still unable to to expiate the curse, he besought healing from Apollo. When Apollo’s oracle pronounced that he would be cleansed easily by offering recompense, the value of his own life, to the sons of Iphitus. Thus compelled to obey the oracle he left the sons and sailed for Asia. There he willingly was sold by one of his friends and became a slave of Iardanus unmarried daughter Omphale, she who then reigned over the Maionians who are now called the Lydians. The friend who had sold Heracles returned the recompense to Iphitus’ children as the oracle had demanded; but Heracles, now expiated served as a slave to Omphale by subduing the bad guys who were recking havoc throughout her land. The Cercopes, who were brigands and perpetrators of many misdeeds, he put to death, but he handed over others to Omphale as captives in chains. Syleus was a brigand who seized passers-by and forced them to hoe his vineyard before he murdered them; Heracles killed him with his own hoe. The Itoni had been dealing corruptly in much of Omphale’s kingdom; Heracles seized their graft sacked their city, from which they made their raids, enslaving the citizens and razing the place. Omphale received Heracles’ heroism (manliness); when when she learned who he was, who his parents were, she admired his valor, and manumitted him. First, though, she slept with him and bore to him her son Lamus. Previously, though, when he was still a slave, another son named Kleodaios had been born to Heracles.
—— trans by RTM


Loeb Classical Library

DOI: 10.4159/DLCL.diodorus_siculus-library_history.1933