Diomedes ( ) or Diomede (; Ancient Greek: Διομήδης, romanized: Diomēdēs, lit. 'god-like cunning" or "advised by Zeus') 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.
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. After the Trojan War he is said to have founded ten or more Italian cities and, after his death, was worshiped as a divine being in both Italy and Greece.
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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."
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, a brother his own sons or his paternal uncle. 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.
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.
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. 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.
Diomedes also led the attack on the city ruled by Cycnus, capturing Glauce (also called Laodice), the daughter of Cycnus. Depending on the account, Diomedes also killed or took captive 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.
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. According to Hyginus, Diomedes went with Odysseus to fetch Iphigenia, making this the two companions' first mission together. However, Pseudo-Apollodorus has Agamemnon send Odysseus and Talthybius instead. According to Euripides, neither of the two went to fetch Iphigenia, though he calls the plan Odysseus' idea in Iphigenia at Tauris.
Palamedes
Once in Troy, Odysseus murdered Palamedes (the commander who outwitted Odysseus in Ithaca, proving him to be feigning insanity and thus forcing him to stand by his oath and join the alliance), drowning him while he was fishing. According to other stories, when Palamedes advised the Achaeans to return home, Odysseus accused him of being a traitor and forged false evidence and found a fake witness to testify against him, whereupon Palamedes was stoned to death.
Some say that both Diomedes and Odysseus drowned Palamedes. Another version says that he conspired with Odysseus against Palamedes, and under the pretence of having discovered a hidden treasure, they let him down into a well and there stoned him to death. Others say that, though Diomedes guessed or knew about the plot, he did not try to defend Palamedes, because Odysseus was essential for the fall of Troy.
In the Iliad
Diomedes is one of the main characters in the Iliad. This epic narrates a series of events that took place during the final year of the great war. Diomedes is the key fighter in the first third of the epic. According to some interpretations, Diomedes is represented in the epic as the most valiant soldier of the war, who avoids committing hubris. He is regarded as the perfect embodiment of traditional heroic values. While striving to become the best warrior and attain honor and glory, he does not succumb to the madness which 'menos' might entail.
He was the only human except for Heracles to be granted strength (with permission) to directly fight with immortals themselves and injures two Olympian immortals (both Ares and Aphrodite) in a single day. However, he still displays self-restraint and humility to retreat before Ares and give way to Apollo thus remaining within mortal limits. This is in contrast to Patroclus (who does not give way when opposed by Apollo) and Achilles (who resorts to fight the river Scamander on his own).
His character also helps to establish one of the main themes of the epic: how human choices and efforts become insignificant when fate and immortals are in control. Diomedes follows Homeric tradition closely and having absolute faith on the superiority of fate, he predicts the conclusion of Achilles' efforts to go against fate.
Apart from his outstanding fighting abilities and courage, Diomedes is on several crucial occasions shown to possess great wisdom, which is acknowledged and respected by his much older comrades, including Agamemnon and Nestor. Diomedes, Nestor and Odysseus were some of the greatest Achaean strategists. Throughout the Iliad, Diomedes and Nestor are frequently seen speaking first in war-counsel.
Instances of Diomedes' maturity and intelligence as described in parts of the epic:
In Book IV Agamemnon taunts Diomedes by calling him a far inferior fighter compared to his father. His enraged comrade Sthenelus urges Diomedes to stand up to Agamemnon by responding that he has bested his father and avenged his death by conquering Thebes. Diomedes responded that it was part of Agamemnon's tasks as a leader to urge forward the Achaean soldiers, and that men of valour should have no problem withstanding such insults. However, when Agamemnon earlier uses the same kind of taunting on Odysseus, he responds with anger.
Posthomerica
Penthesileia led a small army of Amazons to Troy for the last year of the Trojan War. Two of her warriors, named Alcibie and Derimacheia, were slain by Diomedes. Penthesileia killed many Achaeans in battle. She was, however, no match for Achilles, who killed her. When Achilles stripped Penthesileia of her armour, he saw that the woman was young and very beautiful, and seemingly falls madly in love with her. Achilles then regrets killing her. Thersites mocked Achilles for his behaviour, because the hero was mourning his enemy. Enraged, Achilles killed Thersites with a single blow to his face.
Thersites was so quarrelsome and abusive in character that only his cousin, Diomedes, mourned for him. Diomedes wanted to avenge Thersites, but the other leaders persuaded the two mightiest Achaean warriors against fighting each other. Hearkening to prayers of comrades, the two heroes reconciled at last. According to Quintus Smyrnaeus, the Achaean leaders agreed to the boon of returning her body to the Trojans for her funeral pyre. According to some other sources, Diomedes angrily tossed Penthesileia's body into the river, so neither side could give her decent burial.
Nestor's son was killed by Memnon, and Achilles held funeral games for Antilochus. Diomedes won the sprint. After Achilles' death, the Achaeans piled him a mound and held magnificent games in his honor. According to Apollodorus, Diomedes won the footrace. Quintus of Smyrna says that the wrestling match between him and Ajax the Great came to a draw. After the death of Achilles, it was prophesied that Troy could not be taken if Neoptolemus (Achilles's son) would not come and fight. According to Quintus Smyrnaeus, Odysseus and Diomedes came to Scyros to bring him to the war at Troy. According to the Epic Cycle, Odysseus and Phoenix did this.
The Achaean seer Calchas prophesied that Philoctetes (whom the Achaeans had abandoned on the island of Lemnos due to the vile odour from snakebite) and the bow of Heracles are needed to take Troy. Philoctetes hated Odysseus, Agamemnon and Menelaus, because they were responsible for leaving him behind. Diomedes and Odysseus were charged with achieving this prophecy also. Knowing that Philoctetes would never agree to come with them, they sailed to the island and stole the bow of Heracles by a trick. According to the Little Iliad, Odysseus wanted to sail home with the bow but Diomedes refused to leave Philoctetes behind. Heracles (now a god) or Athena then persuaded Philoctetes to join the Achaeans again (with the promise that he would be healed) and he agreed to go with Diomedes. The bow of Heracles and the poisoned arrows were used by Philoctetes to slay Paris; this was a requirement to the fall of Troy.
The Palladium
After Paris' death, Helenus left the city but was captured by Odysseus. The Achaeans somehow managed to persuade the seer/warrior to reveal the weakness of Troy. The Achaeans learnt from Helenus, that Troy would not fall as long as the Palladium (an image or statue of Athena) remained within Troy's walls. The difficult task of stealing this sacred statue again fell upon the shoulders of Odysseus and Diomedes.
Odysseus, some say, went by night to Troy; leaving Diomedes waiting, he entered the city disguised as a beggar. There he was recognized by Helen, who told him where the Palladium was. Diomedes then climbed the wall of Troy and entered the city. Together, the two friends killed several guards and one or more priests of Athena's temple and stole the Palladium "with their bloodstained hands". Diomedes is generally regarded as the person who physically removed the Palladium and carried it away to the ships.
According to the Little Iliad, on the way to the ships, Odysseus plotted to kill Diomedes and claim the Palladium (or perhaps the credit for gaining it) for himself. He raised his sword to stab Diomedes in the back. Diomedes was alerted to the danger by glimpsing the gleam of the sword in the moonlight. He turned round, seized the sword of Odysseus, tied his hands, and drove him along in front, beating his back with the flat of his sword. Because Odysseus was essential for the destruction of Troy, Diomedes refrained from killing him. From this action arose the Greek proverbial expression "Diomedes' necessity", applied to those who act contrary to their inclination for the greater good. (This scene was depicted in an 1842 sculpture in plaster by the French sculptor Pierre-Jules Cavelier.)
Diomedes took the Palladium with him when he left Troy. According to Plutarch, he brought it to Argos, where it remained until Ergiaeus, one of his descendants, took it away to Sparta with the assistance of the Laconian Leagrus. Others say that Diomedes brought it to Italy. Pausanias says that Diomedes was robbed of the palladium by Demophon in Attica, where he landed one night on his return from Troy, without knowing where he was. According to another tradition, the Palladium failed to bring Diomedes any luck due to the unrighteous way he obtained it. He was informed by an oracle that he should be exposed to unceasing sufferings unless he restored the sacred image to the Trojans. Therefore, he restored it to his enemy Aeneas.
The Wooden Horse
This stratagem invented by Odysseus made it possible to take the city. Diomedes was one of the warriors inside. He slew many Trojan warriors inside the city.
According to Quintus Smyrnaeus, while slaughtering countless Trojans, Diomedes met an elderly man named Ilioneus who begged for mercy. Despite his fury of war, Diomedes held back his sword so that the old man might speak. Ilioneus begged "Oh compassionate my suppliant hands! To slay the young and valiant is a glorious thing; but if you smite an old man, small renown waits on your prowess. Therefore turn from me your hands against young men, if you hope ever to come to grey hairs such as mine." Firmly resolved in his purpose, Diomedes answered. "Old man, I look to attain to honored age; but while my Strength yet exists, not a single foe will escape me with life. The brave man makes an end of every foe." Having said this, Diomedes slew Ilioneus.
Some of the other Trojan warriors slain by Diomedes during that night were Coroebus who came to Troy to win the hand of Cassandra, Eurydamas and Eurycoon. Cypria says that Polyxena died after being wounded by Odysseus and Diomedes in the capture of the city.
After the Trojan War
After the fall of Troy
During the sacking and looting of the great city, the seeress Cassandra, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, clung to the statue of Athena, but the Lesser Ajax raped her. Odysseus, unsuccessfully, tried to persuade the Achaean leaders to put Ajax to death, by stoning the Locrian leader (to divert the goddess's anger). The other Achaean leaders disagreed because Ajax himself clung to the same statue of Athena in order to save himself. The failure of Achaean leaders to punish Ajax the Lesser for the sacrilege of Athena's altar resulted in earning her wrath.
Athena caused a quarrel between Agamemnon and Menelaus about the voyage from Troy. Agamemnon then stayed on to appease the anger of Athena. Diomedes and Nestor held a discussion about the situation and decided to leave immediately. They took their vast armies and left Troy. They managed to reach home safely but Athena called upon Poseidon to bring a violent storm upon most of the other Achaean ships. Diomedes is one of the few Achaean commanders to return home safely, arriving in Argos only four days after his departure from Troy. Since the other Achaeans suffered during their respective 'nostoi' (Returns) because they committed an atrocity of some kind, Diomedes' safe nostos implies that he had the favour of the gods during his journey.
The Palamedes affair haunted several Achaean leaders including Diomedes. Palamedes's brother Oeax went to Argos and reported to Aegialia, falsely or not, that her husband was bringing a woman he preferred to his wife. Others say that Aegialia herself had taken a lover, Cometes (son of Sthenelus), being persuaded to do so by Palamedes's father Nauplius. Still others say that despite Diomedes's noble treatment of her son Aeneas, Aphrodite never managed to forget about the Argive spear that had once pierced her flesh in the fields of Troy. She helped Aegialia to obtain not one, but many lovers. (According to different traditions, Aegialia was living in adultery with Hippolytus, Cometes or Cyllabarus.)
In any case Aegialia, being helped by the Argives, prevented Diomedes from entering the city. Or else, if he ever entered Argos, he had to take sanctuary at the altar of Hera, and thence flee with his companions by night. Cometes was shortly the king of Argos, in Diomedes' absence, but was quickly replaced by the rightful heir, Cyanippus, who was the son of Aegialeus.
Life in Italy
Diomedes then migrated to Aetolia, and thence to Daunia (Apulia) in Italy. He went to the court of King Daunus, King of the Daunians. The king was honored to accept the great warrior. He begged Diomedes for help in warring against the Messapians, for a share of the land and marriage to his daughter. Diomedes agreed to the proposal, drew up his men and routed the Messapians. He took his land which he assigned to the Dorians, his followers. The two nations 'Monadi' and the 'Dardi' were vanquished by Diomedes along with the two cities of 'Apina' and 'Trica'.
He built the city of Argyrippa, and once hosted Aeneas there. Aeneas requested for the Palladium to be returned. Diomedes gave it to him, because an oracle had told him to give it to a Trojan so he would no longer suffer disasters.
Diomedes later married Daunus's daughter Euippe and had two sons named Diomedes and Amphinomus. Some say that, after the sack of Troy, Diomedes came to Libya (due to a storm), where he was put in prison by King Lycus (who planned on sacrificing him to Ares). It is said that it was the king's daughter Callirrhoe, loosing Diomedes from his bonds, saved him. Diomedes is said to have sailed away without the least acknowledgment of the girl's kindly deed, whereupon she killed herself, out of grief, with a halter.
Cities founded by Diomedes
The Greeks and Romans credited Diomedes with the foundation of several Greek settlements in Magna Graeca in southern Italy: Argyrippa or Arpi, Aequum Tuticum (Ariano Irpino), Beneventum (Benevento), Brundusium (Brindisi), Canusium (Canosa), Venafrum (Venafro), Salapia, Spina, Garganum, Sipus (near Santa Maria di Siponto), Ankon (Ancona), Histonium (Vasto), Adrìa (Adria) and Aphrodisia or Venusia (Venosa). The last was made as a peace-offering to the goddess, including temples in her honor.
Virgil's Aeneid describes the beauty and prosperity of Diomedes' kingdom. When war broke out between Aeneas and Turnus, Turnus tried to persuade Diomedes to aid them in the war against the Trojans. Diomedes told them he had fought enough Trojans in his lifetime and urged Turnus that it was best to make peace with Aeneas than to fight the Trojans. He also said that his purpose in Italy is to live in peace. Venulus, one of Latinus' messengers, recalls the mission to Diomedes after they seek his help in the war against the Rutulians. He states that when he found Diomedes, he was laying the foundations of his new city, Argyrippa. Diomedes eventually speaks and states that, as punishment for his involvement at Troy, he never reached his fatherland of Argos and that he never saw his beloved wife again. The hero also states that birds pursue him and his soldiers, birds which used to be his companions and cry out everywhere they land, including the sea cliffs. Ovid, on the other hand, writes that Venulus came to the home of exiled Diomedes in vain, but he was erecting walls with the favour of Iapygian Daunus, his new father-in-law, which would make the city Luceria, not Argyrippa.
The worship and service of gods and heroes was spread by Diomedes far and wide: in and near Argos he caused temples of Athena to be built. His armour was preserved in a temple of Athena at Luceria in Apulia, and a gold chain of his was shown in a temple of Artemis in Peucetia. At Troezene he had founded a temple of Apollo Epibaterius and instituted the Pythian games there. Other sources claim that Diomedes had one more meeting with his old enemy Aeneas where he gave the Palladium back to the Trojans.
Hero cult of Diomedes
Hero cults became much more commonplace from the beginning of the 8th century BCE onwards, and they were widespread throughout several Greek cities in the Mediterranean by the last quarter of the century. Diomedes' cults were situated predominantly in Cyprus, Metapontum, and other cities on the coast of the Adriatic Sea (the archaeological evidence for the hero cult of Diomedes comes mostly from this area). There are also vestiges of this cult in areas like Cyprus and some mainland Greek cities, given the inscriptions on votive offerings found in temples and tombs, but the popularity is most evident along the Eastern coast of Italy. This cult reached so far East in the Mediterranean due to the Achaean migration during the 8th century. The most distinct votive offerings to the hero were actually found within the island of Palagruža on the Adriatic.
Strabo claims that the votive offerings in the Daunian temple of Athena at Luceria contained votive offerings specifically addressing Diomedes.
Diomedes was worshipped as a hero not only in Greece, but on the coast of the Adriatic, as at Thurii and Metapontum. At Argos, his native place, during the festival of Athena, his shield was carried through the streets as a relic, together with the Palladium, and his statue was washed in the river Inachus.
There were two islands named after the hero, Islands of Diomedes, believed to be in the Palagruža archipelago on the Adriatic. Strabo mentions that one was uninhabited. A passage in Aelian's On Animals explains the significance of this island and the mysterious birds which inhabit it. Strabo reflects on the peculiarities of this island, including the history tied to Diomedes' excursions and the regions and peoples among which he had the most influence. He writes that Diomedes himself had sovereignty over the areas around the Adriatic, citing the islands of Diomedes as proof of this, as well as the various tribes of people who worshiped him even in contemporary times, including the Heneti and the Dauni. The Heneti sacrificed a white horse to Diomedes in special groves where wild animals grew tame.
This cult was not widespread; cults like those of Herakles and Theseus had a much more prominent function in the Greek world due to the benefits which they granted their followers and the popular mythological traditions of these figures.
Death
Strabo lists four different traditions about the hero's life in Italy. For one, he claims that at the city of Urium, Diomedes was making a canal to the sea when he was summoned home to Argos. He left the city and his undertakings half-finished and went home where he died. The second tradition claims the opposite, that he stayed at Urium until the end of his life. The third tradition claims he disappeared on Diomedea, the uninhabited island (called after him) in the Adriatic where the Shearwaters who were formerly his companions live, which implies some kind of deification. The fourth tradition comes from the Heneti, who claim Diomedes stayed in their country and eventually had a mysterious apotheosis.
One legend says that on his death, the albatrosses got together and sang a song (their normal call). Others say his companions were turned into birds afterwards. The family name for albatrosses, Diomedeidae, and the genus name for the great albatrosses, Diomedea, originate from Diomedes.
Another story explains that a shipwreck stranded Diomedes' men on an island in the Adriatic Sea. Diomedes was killed by Aeneas, and his men were turned into birds. They lived beside a shrine to their fallen king, attacking any foreigners who came there.
On San Nicola Island of the Tremiti Archipelago there is a Hellenic period tomb called Diomedes's Tomb. According to a legend, the goddess Venus seeing the men of Diomedes cry so bitterly transformed them into birds (Diomedee) so that they could stand guard at the grave of their king.
Immortality
According to the post Homeric stories, Diomedes was given immortality by Athena, which she had not given to his father. Pindar mentions the hero's deification in Nemean X, where he says "the golden-haired, gray-eyed goddess made Diomedes an immortal god."
In order to attain immortality, a scholiast for Nemean X says Diomedes married Hermione, the only daughter of Menelaus and Helen, and lives with the Dioscuri as an immortal god while also enjoying honours in Metapontum and Thurii.
He was worshipped as a divine being under various names in Italy where statues of him existed at Argyripa, Metapontum, Thurii, and other places. There was a temple consecrated to Diomedes called 'The Timavo' at the Adriatic. There are traces in Greece also of the worship of Diomedes.
The first two traditions listed by Strabo give no indication of divinity except later through a hero cult, and the other two declare strongly for Diomedes' immortality as more than a mere cult hero.
Afterlife
There are less known versions of Diomedes' afterlife. A drinking song to Harmodius, one of the famous tyrannicides of Athens, includes a reference to Diomedes as an inhabitant of the Islands of the Blessed, along with Achilles and Harmodius.
In his Inferno, Dante sees Diomedes in the Eighth Circle of Hell, where the "counsellors of fraud" are imprisoned for eternity in sheets of flame. His offenses include advising the theft of the Palladium and, of course, the stratagem of the Trojan Horse. The same damnation is imposed on Odysseus, who is also punished for having persuaded Achilles to fight in the Trojan war, without telling him that this would inevitably lead to his death.
Troilus and Cressida legend
Diomedes plays an important role in the medieval legend of Troilus and Cressida, in which he becomes the girl's new lover when she is sent to the Greek camp to join her traitorous father. In Shakespeare's play Troilus and Cressida, Diomedes is often seen fighting Troilus over her.