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Balls and Nymphs (1896) by John William Waterhouse.

In Greek mythology, Hylas (in Greek Ύλας / Hylas) was the son of King Tiodamas of the Dryopes, loved by Heracles and kidnapped by the nymphs due to its beauty.

When Heracles killed his father in a dispute over a farm ox, he took him under his wing and raised him. Heracles took Hylas with him aboard the ship Argo, making him one of the Argonauts.

During the trip, Hylas was kidnapped when he was going to the Pegea spring (Mysia), or the Ascanio river to fetch water. It is attributed to one of the water nymphs named Efidacia who dragged him into the waters because of his beauty. One of the versions indicates that the abduction by the nymphs occurred at the behest of Hera. Helped by the Argonaut Polyphemus, who had heard the boy's cry as he disappeared, Heracles searched for Hylas for a long time. The Argo left without them, so they did not take part in the rest of the voyage, they never found Hylas because he had received immortality from the water nymphs and remained with them.

An alternative version narrated by Antonino Liberal said that the nymphs, to prevent Heracles from finding it, transformed it into an echo. According to this version, Heracles did continue the voyage on the Argo, but not Polyphemus. It was said that the inhabitants of the area continued in historical times to make sacrifices to Hylas.