In Greek and Roman mythology, Iapyx (from Greek Ἰάπυξ, gen.: Ἰάπυγος), Iapux or Iapis was a favorite of Apollo. The god wanted to confer upon him the gift of prophecy, the lyre, etc.; but Iapyx, wishing to prolong the life of his father, preferred the more tranquil art of healing to all the others.

Virgil's Aeneid (XII: 391–402) relates that Iapyx was Aeneas's healer during the Trojan War and then escaped to Italy after the war, founding Apulia.

Family

His descent is unclear. He was either:

• a son of Iasus,^[1] or
• the son of Lycaon, which would make him the brother of Daunius and Peucetius (who went as leaders of a colony to Italy),^[2] or
• a Cretan, from whom the Cretans who migrated to Italy derived the name of Iapyges, or
• a son of Daedalus either:
  • by his wife, thus making him a full-brother of Icarus;^[3]
  • by another Cretan woman.^[4]

Other use

Iapyx is also the name of a minor Greek wind god, the north-west or west-north-west wind. Virgil relates this Iapyx to the wind that carried the fleeing Cleopatra home to Egypt after her loss at the battle of Actium.^[5] Horace (Odes 1.3, line 4) prays that Iapyx may safely carry his friend Virgil's ship to Greece.