Who He Is
Diomedes is the young Achaean chief, son of Tydeus and grandson of Oeneus, of Calydon, whom the poem makes shine more than anyone on a day of battle. Athena gives him strength, boldness, and a rule, and he keeps the rule with precision: he wounds a goddess, backs away from a god, and when the rule changes, he wounds another. He is the chief who speaks plainly to kings, who keeps silent out of respect when they rebuke him and then says why he is not offended. Helenus holds him to be the strongest of the Achaeans, more feared than Achilles. His office in the poem is to resist, and he resists even when he knows that Zeus wants the opposite.
Trajectory
In Book II, Agamemnon summons him among the noblest chiefs to the sacrifice. In Book IV, the king rebukes him, standing beside the chariot, for cowering and keeping watch over the bridges of war, and tells him the story of Tydeus's mission to Thebes. Diomedes does not answer, out of respect, and it is Sthenelus who says that the men of now are better than their fathers. Only then does Diomedes tell his companion to be silent: the king's glory comes if the Achaeans win, and grief if they are destroyed. He leaps from the chariot, and the bronze rings terribly on his chest.
τέττα, σιωπῇ ἧσο, ἐμῷ δʼ ἐπιπείθεο μύθῳ· / οὐ γὰρ ἐγὼ νεμεσῶ Ἀγαμέμνονι ποιμένι λαῶν / ὀτρύνοντι μάχεσθαι ἐϋκνήμιδας Ἀχαιούς· / τούτῳ μὲν γὰρ κῦδος ἅμʼ ἕψεται εἴ κεν Ἀχαιοὶ / Τρῶας δῃώσωσιν ἕλωσί τε Ἴλιον ἱρήν, / τούτῳ δʼ αὖ μέγα πένθος Ἀχαιῶν δῃωθέντων.(4.412-417), Friend, sit in silence and obey my word: I do not resent Agamemnon, shepherd of men, who urges the well-greaved Achaeans to fight, for glory will follow him if the Achaeans slaughter the Trojans and take sacred Ilion, and for him too there will be great grief if the Achaeans are destroyed.
ἡμεῖς τοι πατέρων μέγʼ ἀμείνονες εὐχόμεθʼ εἶναι· / ἡμεῖς καὶ Θήβης ἕδος εἵλομεν ἑπταπύλοιο / παυρότερον λαὸν ἀγαγόνθʼ ὑπὸ τεῖχος ἄρειον, / πειθόμενοι τεράεσσι θεῶν καὶ Ζηνὸς ἀρωγῇ· / κεῖνοι δὲ σφετέρῃσιν ἀτασθαλίῃσιν ὄλοντο·(4.405-409), We boast that we are far better than our fathers: we took the seat of seven-gated Thebes, leading a smaller host against a stronger wall, obeying the signs of the gods and with Zeus's help; but they perished through their own reckless folly.
In Book V, Athena gives Diomedes strength and boldness so that he stands out among the Argives and wins noble glory, and she kindles in his helmet and shield an unwearying fire. He kills Phegeus, and Athena leads Ares out of the fight. Pandarus wounds him in the shoulder, and Diomedes prays to Athena. The goddess answers that she has lifted the mist from his eyes so that he may recognize god and man, and she sets a rule: he is not to fight head-on against the other immortals, but if Aphrodite comes to war, he is to wound her with bronze.
ἔνθʼ αὖ Τυδεΐδῃ Διομήδεϊ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη / δῶκε μένος καὶ θάρσος, ἵνʼ ἔκδηλος μετὰ πᾶσιν / Ἀργείοισι γένοιτο ἰδὲ κλέος ἐσθλὸν ἄροιτο·(5.1-3), Then Pallas Athena gave the son of Tydeus, Diomedes, strength and boldness, so that he might stand out among all the Argives and win noble glory;
ἀχλὺν δʼ αὖ τοι ἀπʼ ὀφθαλμῶν ἕλον ἣ πρὶν ἐπῆεν, / ὄφρʼ εὖ γιγνώσκῃς ἠμὲν θεὸν ἠδὲ καὶ ἄνδρα. / τὼ νῦν αἴ κε θεὸς πειρώμενος ἐνθάδʼ ἵκηται / μή τι σύ γʼ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖς ἀντικρὺ μάχεσθαι / τοῖς ἄλλοις· ἀτὰρ εἴ κε Διὸς θυγάτηρ Ἀφροδίτη / ἔλθῃσʼ ἐς πόλεμον, τήν γʼ οὐτάμεν ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ.(5.127-132), and I have lifted from your eyes the mist that was there before, so that you may clearly recognize both the god and the man. So now, if some god comes here to test you, do not fight head-on against the other immortal gods; but if Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, comes to war, wound her with the sharp bronze.
Diomedes returns three times stronger, like a lion that a shepherd has wounded and not killed. He refuses to retreat before Pandarus and Aeneas, because fighting by dodging is not noble, and Athena does not let him tremble. He kills Pandarus with the spear that Athena guides and crushes Aeneas's hip with a stone. When Aphrodite covers her son with her cloak, he pursues her, knowing she is a goddess without strength, not one of those who rule the war, and he wounds her wrist. He mocks her: is it not enough to deceive weak women?
μή τι φόβον δʼ ἀγόρευʼ, ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ σὲ πεισέμεν οἴω. / οὐ γάρ μοι γενναῖον ἀλυσκάζοντι μάχεσθαι / οὐδὲ καταπτώσσειν· ἔτι μοι μένος ἔμπεδόν ἐστιν· / ὀκνείω δʼ ἵππων ἐπιβαινέμεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὔτως / ἀντίον εἶμʼ αὐτῶν· τρεῖν μʼ οὐκ ἐᾷ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη.(5.252-256), Do not speak of fear, for I do not think you will persuade me either. It is not noble for me to fight by dodging or by cowering; my strength is still firm. I hesitate to climb onto the horses; rather I will go against them on foot all the same: Pallas Athena does not let me tremble.
δὲ Κύπριν ἐπῴχετο νηλέϊ χαλκῷ / γιγνώσκων ὅ τʼ ἄναλκις ἔην θεός, οὐδὲ θεάων / τάων αἵ τʼ ἀνδρῶν πόλεμον κάτα κοιρανέουσιν, / οὔτʼ ἄρʼ Ἀθηναίη οὔτε πτολίπορθος Ἐνυώ.(5.330-333), and he pursued Cypris with pitiless bronze, knowing she was a goddess without strength, not one of those goddesses who rule over the war of men, neither Athena nor Enyo, destroyer of cities.
εἶκε Διὸς θύγατερ πολέμου καὶ δηϊοτῆτος· / ἦ οὐχ ἅλις ὅττι γυναῖκας ἀνάλκιδας ἠπεροπεύεις; / εἰ δὲ σύ γʼ ἐς πόλεμον πωλήσεαι, ἦ τέ σʼ ὀΐω / ῥιγήσειν πόλεμόν γε καὶ εἴ χʼ ἑτέρωθι πύθηαι.(5.348-351), Withdraw, daughter of Zeus, from war and battle! Is it not enough that you deceive weak women? If you venture into war, I think you will shudder at war, even if you know of it only from afar.
He attacks Aeneas four times, knowing that Apollo protects him, and Apollo tells him to consider and withdraw, because the race of gods and the race of men are never alike. Diomedes withdraws. Later, when he sees Hector, who has Ares with him, he orders his men to retreat without fighting head-on against the gods. Athena accuses him of weariness or fear, and he replies that he keeps her command. Athena then lifts the limit, climbs into the chariot beside him, and guides the spear that wounds Ares in the lower belly.
φράζεο Τυδεΐδη καὶ χάζεο, μηδὲ θεοῖσιν / ἶσʼ ἔθελε φρονέειν, ἐπεὶ οὔ ποτε φῦλον ὁμοῖον / ἀθανάτων τε θεῶν χαμαὶ ἐρχομένων τʼ ἀνθρώπων.(5.440-442), Consider, son of Tydeus, and withdraw, and do not wish to think as the gods do, for the race of immortal gods and of men who walk upon the earth is never alike.
οὔτέ τί με δέος ἴσχει ἀκήριον οὔτέ τις ὄκνος, / ἀλλʼ ἔτι σέων μέμνημαι ἐφετμέων ἃς ἐπέτειλας· / οὔ μʼ εἴας μακάρεσσι θεοῖς ἀντικρὺ μάχεσθαι / τοῖς ἄλλοις· ἀτὰρ εἴ κε Διὸς θυγάτηρ Ἀφροδίτη / ἔλθῃσʼ ἐς πόλεμον, τήν γʼ οὐτάμεν ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ.(5.817-821), Neither a lifeless fear holds me nor any hesitation, but I still remember the commands you gave me: you did not allow me to fight head-on against the other blessed gods; but if Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, should come to war, I was to wound her with the sharp bronze.
τύψον δὲ σχεδίην μηδʼ ἅζεο θοῦρον Ἄρηα / τοῦτον μαινόμενον, τυκτὸν κακόν, ἀλλοπρόσαλλον, / ὃς πρῴην μὲν ἐμοί τε καὶ Ἥρῃ στεῦτʼ ἀγορεύων / Τρωσὶ μαχήσεσθαι, ἀτὰρ Ἀργείοισιν ἀρήξειν, / νῦν δὲ μετὰ Τρώεσσιν ὁμιλεῖ, τῶν δὲ λέλασται.(5.830-834), strike at close range and do not fear the impetuous Ares, that furious, badly made evil who changes sides; for a short while ago, speaking to me and to Hera, he promised he would fight the Trojans and help the Argives, and now he consorts with the Trojans and has forgotten those things.
In Book VI, Diomedes meets Glaucus between the two lines and tells him that he does not fight gods, recalling Lycurgus. Glaucus answers with the image of the leaves and his genealogy, and Diomedes rejoices: they are guest-friends by inheritance, because Oeneus hosted Bellerophon. He plants his spear in the earth, proposes that they avoid one another's spears in the crowd and exchange armor. Zeus takes the wits from Glaucus, who trades golden armor for bronze armor.
εἰ δέ τις ἀθανάτων γε κατʼ οὐρανοῦ εἰλήλουθας, / οὐκ ἂν ἔγωγε θεοῖσιν ἐπουρανίοισι μαχοίμην.(6.128-129), and if you are one of the immortals, come down from heaven, I would not fight against the heavenly gods.
τεύχεα δʼ ἀλλήλοις ἐπαμείψομεν, ὄφρα καὶ οἵδε / γνῶσιν ὅτι ξεῖνοι πατρώϊοι εὐχόμεθʼ εἶναι.(6.230-231), let us exchange armor with one another, so that these men too may know that we boast of being guest-friends by inheritance from our fathers.
In Book VII, Diomedes is one of the nine who rise to face Hector. Later, among the Achaeans who hear Paris's offer, he says that no one should accept the goods of Alexander or Helen, for even the most foolish can see that the end of ruin already hangs over the Trojans. The Achaeans approve him with shouts.
μήτʼ ἄρ τις νῦν κτήματʼ Ἀλεξάνδροιο δεχέσθω / μήθʼ Ἑλένην· γνωτὸν δὲ καὶ ὃς μάλα νήπιός ἐστιν / ὡς ἤδη Τρώεσσιν ὀλέθρου πείρατʼ ἐφῆπται.(7.400-402), let no one now accept the goods of Alexander, nor Helen; it is clear, even to one who is very foolish, that the limit of ruin is already fastened upon the Trojans.
In Book VIII, he sees Nestor in danger and calls Odysseus, who does not listen. Diomedes, alone, lifts Nestor into the chariot and kills Hector's charioteer. A thunderbolt of Zeus falls before the horses, and Nestor tells him that today Zeus gives glory to Hector and that no man holds back the thought of Zeus. Diomedes agrees, but fears that Hector will one day say among the Trojans that he fled. Three times he hesitates between turning back and fighting, and three times Zeus thunders from Ida.
ἀλλὰ τόδʼ αἰνὸν ἄχος κραδίην καὶ θυμὸν ἱκάνει· / Ἕκτωρ γάρ ποτε φήσει ἐνὶ Τρώεσσʼ ἀγορεύων· / Τυδεΐδης ὑπʼ ἐμεῖο φοβεύμενος ἵκετο νῆας. / ὥς ποτʼ ἀπειλήσει· τότε μοι χάνοι εὐρεῖα χθών.(8.147-150), but this terrible grief reaches my heart and my spirit: Hector will one day say, speaking among the Trojans: "The son of Tydeus, fleeing from me, reached the ships." Thus he will threaten one day; then may the wide earth swallow me.
τρὶς μὲν μερμήριξε κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν, / τρὶς δʼ ἄρʼ ἀπʼ Ἰδαίων ὀρέων κτύπε μητίετα Ζεὺς / σῆμα τιθεὶς Τρώεσσι μάχης ἑτεραλκέα νίκην.(8.169-171), Three times he hesitated in mind and spirit; three times Zeus, the counselor, thundered from the Idaean mountains, giving the Trojans the sign of victory that turns the struggle to the other side.
In Book IX, Agamemnon proposes fleeing, and Diomedes is the first to answer: Zeus gave him the scepter and honor, but not courage, which is the greatest power. He and Sthenelus will stay until Ilion falls, because they came with a god. At the end of the night, when Odysseus returns with Achilles's refusal, it is he who breaks the silence: the king should not have begged the son of Peleus with so many gifts; he will fight when his spirit and a god move him.
σοὶ δὲ διάνδιχα δῶκε Κρόνου πάϊς ἀγκυλομήτεω· / σκήπτρῳ μέν τοι δῶκε τετιμῆσθαι περὶ πάντων, / ἀλκὴν δʼ οὔ τοι δῶκεν, ὅ τε κράτος ἐστὶ μέγιστον.(9.37-39), To you the son of Cronus, of crooked counsels, gave in two parts: with the scepter he gave you to be honored above all, but he did not give you courage, which is the greatest power.
In Book X, he is the first to offer himself to spy on the Trojans and asks for a companion: when two go together, one notices before the other. He chooses Odysseus, in whom he sees readiness in every trial and the love of Athena. He kills the spy Dolon in the posture of supplication, on the grounds that he would return to the ships, and he kills twelve sleeping Thracians and King Rhesus, the thirteenth. He hesitates between taking the chariot and killing more, and Athena sends him back.
σύν τε δύʼ ἐρχομένω καί τε πρὸ ὃ τοῦ ἐνόησεν / ὅππως κέρδος ἔῃ· μοῦνος δʼ εἴ πέρ τε νοήσῃ / ἀλλά τέ οἱ βράσσων τε νόος, λεπτὴ δέ τε μῆτις.(10.224-226), when two go together, one notices before the other where the gain lies; and if one alone notices it, his thinking is slower and his cunning is thin.
εἰ μὲν γάρ κέ σε νῦν ἀπολύσομεν ἠὲ μεθῶμεν, / ἦ τε καὶ ὕστερον εἶσθα θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν / ἠὲ διοπτεύσων ἢ ἐναντίβιον πολεμίξων· / εἰ δέ κʼ ἐμῇς ὑπὸ χερσὶ δαμεὶς ἀπὸ θυμὸν ὀλέσσῃς, / οὐκέτʼ ἔπειτα σὺ πῆμά ποτʼ ἔσσεαι Ἀργείοισιν.(10.449-453), for if we now release you or let you go, you will later come again to the swift ships of the Achaeans, either to spy or to fight face to face; but if, overcome by my hands, you lose your life, you will never again be a harm to the Argives.
νόστου δὴ μνῆσαι μεγαθύμου Τυδέος υἱὲ / νῆας ἔπι γλαφυράς, μὴ καὶ πεφοβημένος ἔλθῃς, / μή πού τις καὶ Τρῶας ἐγείρῃσιν θεὸς ἄλλος.(10.509-511), Remember your return, son of great-hearted Tydeus, to the hollow ships, lest you come back in fear, lest some other god rouse the Trojans.
In Book XI, Odysseus calls Diomedes to stand beside him when everyone flees. Diomedes resists, though he says their joy will be short, for Zeus wants to give power to the Trojans. He strikes Hector's helmet, and Hector falls to his knees and shouts that Apollo saved him again. Paris, hidden behind the stele of Ilus's tomb, wounds him in the foot. Diomedes says that the arrow of an archer with combed hair matters to him no more than the blow of a woman or a child; he pulls out the arrow and withdraws to the ships.
ἤτοι ἐγὼ μενέω καὶ τλήσομαι· ἀλλὰ μίνυνθα / ἡμέων ἔσσεται ἦδος, ἐπεὶ νεφεληγερέτα Ζεὺς / Τρωσὶν δὴ βόλεται δοῦναι κράτος ἠέ περ ἡμῖν.(11.317-319), Well, I will stay and endure; but little will be our gain, since Zeus, the gatherer of clouds, wants to give power to the Trojans rather than to us.
In Book XIV, Diomedes, the youngest of those present, asks that they listen without being irritated by his age, and leans on his lineage: son of Tydeus, buried in Thebes, grandson of Oeneus. He proposes to return to combat, even though wounded, but out of range of the spears, so that no one adds wound to wound, and to rouse the others to the fight. All obey.
δεῦτʼ ἴομεν πόλεμον δὲ καὶ οὐτάμενοί περ ἀνάγκῃ. / ἔνθα δʼ ἔπειτʼ αὐτοὶ μὲν ἐχώμεθα δηϊοτῆτος / ἐκ βελέων, μή πού τις ἐφʼ ἕλκεϊ ἕλκος ἄρηται· / ἄλλους δʼ ὀτρύνοντες ἐνήσομεν, οἳ τὸ πάρος περ / θυμῷ ἦρα φέροντες ἀφεστᾶσʼ οὐδὲ μάχονται.(14.128-132), let us go to battle, even though wounded, out of necessity. There we ourselves will keep out of the fighting, out of range of the missiles, lest anyone add wound to wound; and we will rouse the others to fight, those who before, giving pleasure to their own spirit, have stood apart and do not fight.
In Book XXIII, in the chariot race, Diomedes drives the horses he took from Aeneas. Apollo, angered, knocks his whip from his hand, and Diomedes weeps with rage. Athena notices, returns the whip to him, and puts strength into the horses. He arrives first. In the armed contest, he faces Ajax Telamonian: after three charges, he aims over the shield at Ajax's neck, and the Achaeans, fearful for Ajax, order them to stop. Achilles gives the Thracian sword to Diomedes. Earlier, he had helped Euryalus with the belt and straps in the boxing.
οὐδʼ ἄρʼ Ἀθηναίην ἐλεφηράμενος λάθʼ Ἀπόλλων / Τυδεΐδην, μάλα δʼ ὦκα μετέσσυτο ποιμένα λαῶν, / δῶκε δέ οἱ μάστιγα, μένος δʼ ἵπποισιν ἐνῆκεν·(23.388-390), and Apollo, in deceiving the son of Tydeus, did not escape Athena's notice; she quickly went after the shepherd of peoples, gave him the whip, and put strength into the horses.
Themes Embodied
Diomedes embodies War seen as courage: aristeia, divine favor, resistance when the god decides otherwise. He embodies Honor and Reputation in the fear of the words Hector will say of him in Book VIII and in his answer to Agamemnon in Book IV and in Book IX. And he embodies Fate and Free Will in the limit that Athena sets and then lifts, and in Apollo's warning, which makes him withdraw.
In Book V, the poem draws what a mortal can do when a god authorizes him and where what the god authorizes ends. Athena gives Diomedes strength, sight, and one exception, Aphrodite. He carries out the command with precision, withdraws on seeing Ares because the command does not cover him, and only after Athena lifts the limit and drives the chariot does he wound Ares. When he charges Aeneas knowing that Apollo protects him, he overreaches the license, but he obeys the god's warning and withdraws. In Book VI, the same man who wounded two gods discovers that he shares a bond of hospitality with Glaucus, and he calls off the duel: the difference between them and Hector is not in affection, it is in what each one defends. In every book where he reappears, Diomedes reacts to a rebuke or a warning, and answers with action or obedience, never with defense.
Relationships
- Athena: the goddess who gives him strength, order, and limit, and then lifts it.
- Agamemnon: the king who rebukes him in Book IV and to whom he answers in Book IX.
- Odysseus: the companion of the Doloneia and the chief who asks him for help in Book XI.
- Nestor: the elder he rescues in Book VIII and who advises him to withdraw.
- Hector: the opponent before whom he withdraws in Book V and Book VIII, and whom he stuns in Book XI.
- Apollo: the god who warns him in Book V and who knocks his whip from his hand in Book XXIII.
- Zeus: the god whose thunder decides his hesitation in Book VIII.
- Paris: the archer who wounds him in the foot.
- Ajax: the rival in the armed contest at Patroclus's games.
- Glaucus: the guest-friend by inheritance with whom he exchanges armor.
- Sthenelus: the companion in the chariot who answers on his behalf.