Odysseus and Diomedes Apollo now comes to the rescue of the Trojan hero. In Aulis, where the Achaean leaders gathered, Diomedes met his brother in arms Odysseus, with whom he shared several adventures. Diomedes' grandfather was Adrastus, king of Argos, whom Diomedes succeeded on the throne. Hector was vanquished by Diomedes yet again and it was Diomedes that ended up being worshipped as an immortal. Red-figure pottery, c. 360 BCE. Antilochus told his horses that there is no point trying to overtake Diomedes for Athena wishes his victory. While he remains victorious in the end, returning to his wife, son, and father, the poem itself is filled with many darker moments filled with doubt and sadness. Later, Oeneus passed the kingdom to his son-in-law, Andraemon, and headed to Argos to meet Diomedes. Agamemnon then stayed on to appease the anger of Athena. Agamemnon and Menelaus rounded up their principal commanders to get ready for battle the next day. In another, he dies from treachery. 15; comp. He slew many Trojan warriors inside the city. He is also a close friend of Odysseus, and the two have a rough banter which establishes them as equals. ii. Diomedes agreed to the proposal, drew up his men and routed the Messapians. The phrase Diomedian swap originated from this incident. "Cypria" fragment 27. Tzetz. Diomedes and Odysseus . Or, as the Latin writers call him, Ulysses, Ulyxes or Ulixes, one of the principal Greek heroes in the Trojan war. The embassy failed because Achilles himself had more faith in his own choices than fate or divine interventions. The two were happily married and had two children togethera daughter, Comaetho, and a son, Diomedes. Both Sthenelus and Euryalus (former Epigoni) fought under his command with their armies. Love them or hate them they get shit done. Idaeus of the Trojans came for a peace negotiation, and he offered to give back all the treasures Paris stole plus moreeverything except Helen. 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. There were several important relationships that Odysseus has with others in the poem. According to Roman sources, his companions were turned into birds by Aphrodite, and, hostile to all but Greeks, they lived on the Isles of Diomedes off Apulia. In Homer's 'The Iliad,' Odysseus stands out, but not because he is a main character. They woke up Odysseus, Nestor, Ajax, Diomedes and Idomeneus. Corrections? Together, the two friends killed several guards and one or more priests of Athena's temple and stole the Palladium "with their bloodstained hands". Beholding this, Diomedes and Odysseus continued to fight with a lot of valor, giving hope to the Achaeans. Download Full Size Image. West (Loeb Classical Library, 2003), 105. The Heneti sacrificed a white horse to Diomedes in special groves where wild animals grew tame.[49]. Smyrnaeus says that the wrestling match between him and Ajax the Great came to a draw. [citation needed], According to the post Homeric stories, Diomedes was given immortality by Athena, which she had not given to his father. In combat, he also carried a spear, which wasnt enchanted as well as his father's sword. Subsequently, when Daunus too had died, the Dorians were conquered by the Illyrians, but were metamorphosed by Zeus into birds.37 According to Tzetzes, Diomedes was murdered by Daunus, whereas according to others he returned to Argos, or disappeared in one of the Diomedean islands, or in the country of the Heneti.38, A number of towns in the eastern part of Italy, such as Beneventum, Aequumtuticum, Argos Hippion (afterwards Argyripa or Arpi), Venusia or Aphrodisia, Canusium, Venafrum, Salapia, Spina, Sipus, Garganum, and Brundusium, were believed to have been founded by Diomedes.39 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;40 his armor 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. vi. 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. Diomedes then migrated to Aetolia, and thence to Daunia (Apulia) in Italy. [44] Other sources claim that Diomedes had one more meeting with his old enemy Aeneas where he gave the Palladium back to the Trojans. Egged on by Aphrodite who had a grudge against him for the wrist injury she had sustained defending Aeneas, Aegialia was faithless and kept Diomedes from re-entering the city of Argos. Greek Hero Cults and Ideas of Immortality. Hearkening to prayers of comrades, the two heroes reconciled at last. iv. According to the Homeric account, he was the grandson of Acrisius, and a son of Lartes and Anticleia, the daughter of Autolycus, and brother of Ctimene.