DIOMEDES (gr. Diomḗdēs)
in Greek mythology (1) son of ➚ Ares and Cyrene, ruler of Thracian Bistones. He owned a herd of horses (mares), of which four are known by name: Podargos, Xanthos, Lampon and Deinos [1] and which he used to feed with human flesh. Stealing these horses made the eighth labour of ➚ Heracles. The hero arrived to Thrace leading a group of volunteers. They beat the guardians of the herd and drove it to the seashore. Attacked by Bistones, Heracles left the horses under guard of his favourite, beautiful Abderus (gr. Ábdēros) from Opuntian Locris, the son of ➚ Hermes. Hero defeated the aggressors and killed Diomedes (according to another version he fed him to the horses [2]), but found Abderus torn to pieces by the mares; unfortunate youth had his exceptional beauty preserved after death [3]. Heracles buried his companion and founded a city of Abdera near the tomb [4].
(2) Son of ➚ Tydeus and Deipyle, daughter of ➚ Adrastus (I). Supported by ➚ Alcmaeon (1) he took revenge on the sons of Agrius (see THERSITES) for the wrongs they did to his grandfather ➚ Oeneus [5] and buried him. Then he handed the power over Calydon to Andraemon, the Oeneus’ son-in-law. Diomedes married the daughter of Adrastus (1) (or Aegialeus) ➚ Aegialeia [6]. He was one of the ➚Epigoni [7] and suitors of ➚ Helen [8], and therefore took part in the ➚ Trojan War [9], where – together with ➚ Ajax (2) and ➚ Achilles (2) – he formed the top three warriors of the Greeks. Diomedes often cooperated with ➚ Odysseus [10]: together they killed ➚ Dolon and ➚ Rhesus [11], lead ➚ Palamedes to death [12], brought ➚ Philoctetes from Lemnos [13] and stole the Palladion [14] (see ILUS-2). In combat under the walls of Troy Diomedes wounded ➚ Aphrodite [15] and with help of ➚ Athena defeated ➚ Ares [16]. He won the horse and running races at the funeral games in honour of ➚ Patroclus [17] and Achilles (2) [18]. He was one of the conquerors of Troy that hid in the wooden horse (see Epeius-2). There were various stories about Diomedes’ return home. According to some (older) sources he managed to get there safely [19,20], while another say that after being shipwrecked he got captured by Lycus (see CALLIRRHOE-4). In Argos Diomedes fell into Aegialeia’s trap and escaped to Italy, where he married Euippe, daughter of king ➚ Daunus and subsequently founded several cities: Argos Hippium (Argyrippa or Arpi), Canusium, Brundisium and Spina. He refused to help ➚ Turnus in his war against ➚ Aeneas [21]. Diomedes died at the hand of Daunus and was buried on one of the so-called Diomedean Isles (Greek Diomḗdeos nēsos). According to another versions Athena made Diomedes a god [22] or he resided on the Islands of the Blessed (i.e. ➚ Leuke-1 [23]) or suddenly disappeared, while his companions were transformed into non-aggressive birds called “Diomedean” [24]. Diomedes was ascribed with establishment of the Pythian Games in honour of ➚ Apollo and a recognition of ➚ Hippolytus as a god [25].
References
[1] H y g., Fab., 30; [2] H y g., Fab., 250; [3] P h i l o s t r., Imag., II, 25; [4] A p d., II, 5, 8; [5] P a u s., II, 25, 2; [6] A p d., I, 8, 6; [7] A p d., III, 7, 2; [8] A p d., III, 10, 8; [9] H o m., Il., II, 559 ff.; [10] O v i d., Met., XIII, 98 ff.; [11] H o m., Il., X, 220 ff.; [12] P a u s., X, 31, 1; [13] A p d., Epit., V, 8; [14] A p d., Epit., V, 13; [15] H o m., Il., V, 330 ff.; [16] H o m., Il., V, 846 ff.; [17] H o m., Il., XXIII, 271 ff.; [18] A p d., Epit., V, 5; [19] H o m., Od., III, 180 ff.; [20] A p d., Epit., VI, 1; [21] O v i d., Met., XIV, 457 ff.; [22] P i n d., Nem., X, 11 f.; [23] C o n o n., Narr., 34; [24] A r i s t o t., Mir. auscult., 79; [25] P a u s., II, 32, 1 f.
L. S. I l ’ i n s k a y a, Diomed i davny, (in:) Legendy i arxieologiya. Dryevneysheye Sryedizyemnomor’ye, Moskva 1988.
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