Diomedes (Jones, Daniel; Roach, Peter, James Hartman and Jane Setter, eds. Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary. 17th edition. Cambridge UP, 2006.) or Diomede (; ) is a hero in Greek mythology, known for his participation in the Trojan War.
He was born to Tydeus and Deipyle and later became King of Argos, succeeding his maternal grandfather, Adrastus. He may have had a half-brother, Alaenus.Lycophron, Alexandra; LCL 129 372-373
In Homer's Iliad Diomedes is regarded alongside Ajax the Great and Agamemnon, after Achilles, as one of the best warriors of all the Achaeans in prowess.Iliad, § 7.175 After the Trojan War he is said to have founded ten or more Italian citiesStrabo, 6.3.9Kokole, Metoda (et al.). (2006). Mediteranski miti od antike do 18. stoletja / Mediterranean Myths from Classical Antiquity to the Eighteenth Century, p. 23-36 and, after his death, was worshiped as a divine being in both Italy and Greece.Hesperìa: Studi sulla Grecità di Occidente. 9, p. 63-110
Description In the account of Dares the Phrygian, Diomedes was illustrated as "stocky, brave, dignified, and austere. He was loud at the war-cry, hot-tempered, impatient, and daring."Dares Phrygius, 13
Early myths Diomedes was, on his father's side, an Aetolian, and on his mother's an Argive. His father, Tydeus, was himself of royal blood, being the son of Oeneus, the king of Calydon. He had been exiled from his homeland for killing his relatives, either his cousins and a brother,D Scholia to the Iliad, § 14.119 a brotherHyginus, Fabulae § 70 his own sonsD Scholia to the Iliad, 14.119 or his paternal uncle.Apollodorus, Library § 1.8.5 In any case, Tydeus was exiled, and found refuge at Argos, where the king Adrastus, offered him hospitality, even giving him his daughter, Deipyle, to be his wife. The two had two children together—a daughter, Comaetho, and a son, Diomedes.
At the same time Polynices, a banished prince of Thebes, arrived in Argos; Adrastus gave him his daughter Argia to wife. Later he approached Adrastus and pleaded his case to the king, as he requested his aid to restore him to his original homeland. Adrastus promised to do so and set out to gather an expeditionary force with which to march against Thebes. This force was made up of seven individual leaders, each assigned to lead an assault on one of the seven gates of the city; Tydeus, Polynices and Adrastus were among them. Together, these champions were known as the Seven against Thebes. According to the Iliad VI v222, he was "τυτθός", a small child of nursing/toddler age, when his father died.
The expedition proved unsuccessful, however, as all seven of the Argive champions were killed in the ensuing battle, except for Adrastus, who escaped thanks to his horse Arion, who was the fastest of all of his brethren. Diomedes' father, Tydeus, was among those who had been slain.
Tydeus was Athena's favorite warrior at the time, and when he was dying she wanted to offer him immortality (which she had obtained from her father). However, she withdrew the intended privilege in apparent disgust when Tydeus gobbled down the brains of the hated enemy who had wounded him.Apollodorus, 3.6
At the funeral of their fathers, the sons of the seven fallen champions (Aegialeus, Alcmaeon, Amphilocus, Diomedes, Euryalus, Promachus, Sthenelus, and Thersander) met and vowed to vanquish Thebes in order to avenge their fathers. These seven sons were known as the Epigoni ("offspring").
Ten years later (according to Apollodorus) , the Epigoni set out to launch another expedition against Thebes, appointing Alcmaeon as their commander-in-chief. They strengthened their initial forces with contingents from Messenia, Arcadia, Corinth, and Megara. This army, however, was still small compared to that of Thebes.
The war of the Epigoni is remembered as the most important expedition in Greek mythology prior to the Trojan War. It was a favorite topic for epics; but all of these epics are now lost. The main battle took place at Glisas where prince Aegialeus (son of Adrastus and heir to the throne) was slain by King Laodamas, who was in turn killed by Alcmaeon. With their king dead, the Thebans, believing this to be the end for them, sought counsel from the seer Tiresias, who urged them to flee the city. They did so, and, faced with no opposition, the Epigoni entered the city, plundering its treasures and tearing down its great walls. Having achieved their objective, the Epigoni returned home, but not before they installed Thersander, son of the fallen prince Polynices (the instigator of the first Theban expedition), as the city's new ruler.Apollodorus, 3.7
As Diomedes and the Argive forces travelled home, an elderly King Adrastus died of grief upon learning that his son Aegialeus had perished in the battle; as such, Diomedes was left as the last of Adrastus' male descendants. That being so, upon returning home to Argos, Diomedes ascended to the throne. In order to secure his grasp on the throne, Diomedes married Aegialeus' daughter, Princess Aegialia.Oxford Classical Dictionary, s.v. Adrastus
Diomedes ruled Argos for more than five years and brought much wealth and stability to the city during his time. He was a skilled politician and was greatly respected by other rulers. He still kept an eye on Calydonian politics (his father's homeland), and when the sons of Agrius (led by Thersites) put Oeneus (Diomedes' grandfather) in jail and their own father on the throne, Diomedes decided to restore Oeneus to the throne.
Diomedes attacked and seized the kingdom, slaying all the traitors except Thersites, Onchestus (who escaped to the Peloponnese) and Agrius (who killed himself) restoring his grandfather to the throne. Later, Oeneus passed the kingdom to his son-in-law, Andraemon, and headed to Argos to meet Diomedes. He was assassinated on the way (in Arcadia) by Thersites and Onchestus. Unable to find the murderers, Diomedes founded a mythical city called "Oenoe" at the place where his grandfather was buried to honour his death. Later, Thersites fought against the Trojans in the Trojan War and noble Diomedes did not mistreat him (however, Thersites was hated by all the other Achaeans). In fact, when Thersites was brutally slain by Achilles (after having mocked him when the latter cried over Penthesilia's dead body), Diomedes was the only person who wanted to punish Achilles.Tzetzes ad Lycophron, 999; Dictys Cretensis, 4.3
According to Hyginus and Pseudo-Apollodorus, Diomedes became one of the suitors of Helen and, as such, he was bound by the oath of Tyndareus, which established that all the suitors would defend and protect the man who was chosen as Helen's husband against any wrong done against him in regard to his marriage. Accordingly, when the Trojan prince Paris stole Menelaus' wife, all those who had sworn the oath were summoned by Agamemnon (Menelaus' brother), so that they would join the coalition that was to sail from Aulis to Troy in order to retrieve Helen and the Spartan property that was stolen.Hyginus, Fabulae 81 However, Hesiod does not include Diomedes in his list of suitors. It's possible that labelling Diomedes a suitor of Helen was a later addition, extrapolated from his name being listed in the Catalogue of Ships. If, in fact, Helen ruled Sparta with her husband Menelaus for ten years before her abduction, Diomedes would have still been a child at the time of their marriage and thus a very unlikely suitor.Apollodorus, E.3.3
Trojan War
Diomedes is known primarily for his participation in the Trojan War. According to Homer, Diomedes entered the war with a fleet of 80 ships, third only to the contributions of Agamemnon (100 ships) and Nestor (90). Both Sthenelus and Euryalus (former Epigoni) fought under his command with their armies. Sthenelus was the driver of Diomedes' chariot and probably his closest friend. All the troops from Argos, Tiryns, Troezen and some other cities were headed by Diomedes.
When the Achaeans attacked the city of Teuthrania, ruled by King Telephus, Diomedes participated in the battle.Philostratus, Heroicus 13 According to Philostratus, Diomedes, together with Sthenelus and Palamedes, fought with and killed Haimus, a son of Ares. Protesilaus praised Palamedes for his valor during the fight, but Palamedes awarded the glory to Diomedes.Philostratus, Heroicus 23
Diomedes also led the attack on the city ruled by Cycnus, capturing Glauce (also called Laodice), the daughter of Cycnus.John Tzetzes, Allegories of the Iliad pro.875-876 Depending on the account, Diomedes also killed or took captiveDictys Cretensis 2.13John Malalas, Chronography 5.99 the two sons of Cycnus, Cobis and Corianus.
Although he was the youngest of the Achaean kings, Diomedes is considered the most experienced leader by many scholars; he had fought more battles than others, including the war of the Epigoni, the most important war expedition before the Trojan War – even old Nestor had not participated in such military work. Second only to Achilles, Diomedes is considered to be the mightiest and the most skilled warrior among the Achaeans. He was overwhelming Telamonian Ajax in an armed sparring contest when the watching Achaeans bade the men to stop and take equal prizes because they feared for Ajax's life. Ajax gave Diomedes the prize (long sword) because Diomedes drew the first blood. He once vanquished Aeneas — the second best of the Trojan warriors — and could have struck him down. He and Odysseus were the only Achaean heroes who participated in covert military operations that demanded discipline, bravery, courage, cunning, and resourcefulness.
Diomedes received the most direct divine help and protection. He was the favorite warrior of Athena (who even drove his chariot once). He was also the only hero except Heracles, son of Zeus, that attacked Olympian gods. He would wound Ares, whom he struck with his spear, as well as Aphrodite. Once, he was even granted divine vision in order to identify immortals. Only Diomedes and Menelaus were offered immortality and became gods in post-Homeric mythology.
[The god Hephaestus made Diomedes' cuirass for him. He was the only Achaean warrior apart from Achilles who carried such an arsenal of gear made by Hera's son. He had also a round shield with the mark of a boar. In combat, he carried also a spear, which, unlike his father's sword, was not enchanted. His golden armor bore a crest of a boar on the breast. It was created by a mortal smith but was blessed by Athena, who gave it to Tydeus. When he died, it passed to Diomedes. A skilled smith created the sword for Tydeus, which bore designs of a lion and a large boar.]
In Aulis In Aulis, where the Achaean leaders gathered, Diomedes met his brother in arms Odysseus, with whom he shared several adventures. Both of them were favorite heroes of Athena and each shared characteristics of their patron goddess – Odysseus her wisdom and cunning, and Diomedes her courage and skill in battle; though neither was wholly bereft of either aspect. They began to combine their efforts and actions already when being in Aulis.
When the sacrifice of Iphigenia (Agamemnon's daughter) became a necessity for the Achaeans to sail away from Aulis, King Agamemnon had to choose between sacrificing his daughter and resigning from his post of high commander among Achaeans. When he decided to sacrifice his daughter to Artemis, Odysseus carried out this order of Agamemnon by luring Iphigenia from Mycenae to Aulis, where murder, disguised as wedding, awaited her.Dictys Cretensis, 1.20 According to Hyginus, Diomedes went with Odysseus to fetch Iphigenia, making this the two companions' first mission together.Hyginus, Fabulae 98 However, Pseudo-Apollodorus has Agamemnon send Odysseus and Talthybius instead.Apollodorus, E.3.21-2 According to Euripides, neither of the two went to fetch Iphigenia, though he calls the plan Odysseus' idea in Iphigenia at Tauris.Euripides, Iphigenia at Taurus 24–25