Diomedes

Diomedes (1) Greek hero in the Trojan War, who brought a contingent from Argos and Tiryns. He enjoyed a prominent period of success in battle there, described in Homer's Iliad (books 5 and 6). With Odysseus he stole the Palladion from Troy, and killed Rhesos and Dolon during a night attack. Later traditions associate him with stories of Greek colonization in South Italy.

Diomedes (2) A son of the god Ares, who owned horses accustomed to being fed with human flesh, a procedure which rendered them quite tame. Herakles' Eighth Labour was to bring them to Eurystheus. Fortuitously Diomedes was either killed in battle or else fed to his own steeds - after which Herakles brought the horses safely to Argos where he dedicated them to Hera.

Above left: Detail from an Athenian black-figure clay cup, about 520 BC, showing Herakles and one of Diomedes' mares. St. Petersburg, Hermitage Museum 9270. © State Hermitage Museum Licence Plate 11 UK 1007 135

Above middle: The Felix Gem. Oxford, Ashmolean Museum. © Ashmolean Museum

Above right: Diomedes attacks sleeping Rhesos. Detail from Chalcidian amphora. Malibu. J.Paul Getty Museum 96.AE.1. © J.Paul Getty Museum