In Greek mythology, King Diomedes of Thrace (Ancient Greek: Διομήδης) was the son of Ares and Cyrene. [2] He lived on the shores of the Black Sea ruling the warlike tribe of Bistones. [3] [4] He is known for his man-eating horses, [5] which Heracles stole in order to complete the eighth of his Twelve Labours, slaying Diomedes in the process. [2]
Heracles encounters King Diomedes through performing his eighth labour. Eurystheus, King of Tiryns and Heracles' cousin, had sent Heracles to capture the Mares of Diomedes after he had completed his seventh labour, capturing the Cretan Bull. Heracles travelled to the shores of the Black Sea to meet King Diomedes. He was said to have been the son of the god Ares and Cyrene, who is said to be the daughter of Hypseus, King of the Lapiths. King Diomedes was a savage; he enjoyed feeding strangers and prisoners to his mares. They did not like the taste of oats and grain; instead they feasted on human flesh, which their master gave them willingly. His mares could not be controlled; they were savage, just like the King. They could not be tethered by regular rope; instead they needed to be tethered to a bronze manger by chains, so they would not escape.
Upon arrival, Heracles, knowing how King Diomedes treats strangers, wrestles with him, trying to bring King Diomedes to the stables, where the mares live. Even though Heracles is said to have unmatched strength, it is a long and reasonably even match, since Diomedes himself is the son of the god of war. He eventually loses to Heracles, and is brought to the mares’ manger where they devour him. It is said that this cures them of their hunger for human flesh. It seems that all they longed for was their master's blood. They become calm and controllable. Heracles is able to bring them back to Tiryns to show Eurystheus his completion of his eighth labour. Eurytheus dedicates the mares to Hera, goddess of marriage, women and childbirth. Once dedicated they were released and free to roam Argos. One of their descendants is said to be the horse of Alexander the Great. In other translations it is said that the mares are freed to Mount Olympus where some were eaten by wild beasts.
Other versions of the story claim that Heracles was accompanied by a band of volunteers to assist in acquiring Diomedes' mares. Rather than wrestling Diomedes alone Heracles entrusts the mares to a young boy named Abderos. While Heracles and his men defeat Diomedes and his Bistone army young Abderos is unable to control the mares and is killed in the process. Heracles, grieved by the fate of Abderos, builds a city named Abdera in his name. Other versions also may include the addition of a chariot. Either Heracles attaches the mares to his chariot to tame them or he takes them along with the chariot of Diomedes. [6]
Diomedes Lake in Antarctica is named after Diomedes of Thrace.
In Greek mythology, Alcmene or Alcmena was the wife of Amphitryon, by whom she bore two children, Iphicles and Laonome. She is best known as the mother of Heracles, whose father was the god Zeus. Alcmene was also referred to as Electryone, a patronymic name as a daughter of Electryon.
In Greek mythology, Eurystheus was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos.
Heracles, born Alcaeus or Alcides, was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon. He was a descendant and half-brother of Perseus. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, the ancestor of royal clans who claimed to be Heracleidae (Ἡρακλεῖδαι), and a champion of the Olympian order against chthonic monsters. In Rome and the modern West, he is known as Hercules, with whom the later Roman emperors, in particular Commodus and Maximian, often identified themselves. Details of his cult were adapted to Rome as well.
In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte, was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' zoster, the Greek word found in the Iliad and elsewhere meaning "war belt". Some English translations prefer "girdle". Hippolyta figures prominently in the myths of both Heracles and Theseus. The myths about her are so varied it is thought that they may be about different women. The name Hippolyta translates as "she who unleashes the horses", deriving from two Greek roots meaning "horse" and "let loose".
In Greek mythology, Iole was the daughter of King Eurytus of Oechalia. According to the brief epitome in the Bibliotheca, Eurytus had a beautiful young daughter named Iole who was eligible for marriage. Iole was claimed by Heracles for a bride, but Eurytus refused her hand in marriage. Iole was indirectly the cause of Heracles' death because of his wife's jealousy of her.
In Greek mythology, Iphicles, also called Iphiclus, was the maternal half-brother of Heracles and one of the Calydonian boar hunters.
Diomedes or Diomede is a hero in Greek mythology, known for his participation in the Trojan War.
In Greek mythology, Abderus or Abderos was a divine hero, reputed by some to be one of Heracles' lovers (eromenoi), and reputedly a son of Hermes by some accounts, and eponym of Abdera, Thrace.
In Greek mythology, the Cretan Bull was the bull Pasiphaë fell in love with, giving birth to the Minotaur.
The Mares of Diomedes, also called the Mares of Thrace, were a herd of man-eating horses in Greek mythology. Magnificent, wild, and uncontrollable, they belonged to Diomedes of Thrace, king of Thrace, son of Ares and Cyrene who lived on the shores of the Black Sea. Bucephalus, Alexander the Great's horse, was said to be descended from these mares
The Labours of Hercules or Labours of Heracles are a series of tasks carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as Hercules. They were accomplished in the service of King Eurystheus. The episodes were later connected by a continuous narrative.
In Greek mythology, Demophon was a veteran of the Trojan War and king of Athens. The son of Theseus and Phaedra, Demophon was raised in exile by a family friend after his father was deposed. He later fought in the Trojan War, being one of those who hid in the Trojan Horse. Following the fall of Troy and the rescue of his grandmother Aethra, Demophon is said to have landed in Thrace on his return journey, where he met and married Phyllis, the daughter of the king. Leaving for Athens, Demophon promised to return, and when he did not, Phyllis committed suicide in despair. Arriving in Athens after a possible stop in Cyprus, Demophon succeeded Menestheus as king of Athens, supposedly in 1183 B.C. As king, he gave refuge and land to the Heracleidae in Athens, fought Diomedes and wrested the Palladium from him, presided over the creation of the court of the Ephetae, and hosted Orestes during his madness. Demophon died in Athens in 1150 B.C. after a reign of 33 years, and was succeeded by his son Oxyntes.
Children of Heracles is an Athenian tragedy by Euripides that was first performed c. 430 BC. It follows the children of Heracles as they seek protection from Eurystheus. It is the first of two surviving tragedies by Euripides where the children of Heracles are suppliants.
In Greek mythology, Megara was a Theban princess and the first wife of the hero Heracles.
Hercules is a 2005 American television miniseries chronicling the life of the legendary Greek hero, Heracles, called Hercules in this series. It is most often aired on television as a two-part miniseries: the first part documents his early life in Tiryns and his desire and marriage to the lady Megara; the second part follows the more widely recognised part of his life, in seeking redemption for the madness-induced murder of his family.
Bistones is the name of a Thracian people who dwelt between Mount Rhodopé and the Aegean Sea, beside Lake Bistonis, near Abdera "extending westward as far as the river Nestus". It was through the land of the Bistones that "Xerxes marched on his invasion of Greece ". "The Bistones continued to exist at the time when the Romans were masters of Thrace". "Roman poets sometimes use the names of the Bistones for that of the Thracians in general." "Pliny mentions one town as belonging to the Bistones: Tirida; the other towns on their coast, Dicaea, Ismaron, Parthenion, Phalesina and Maronea, were Greek colonies."
Tirida, also known as Stabulum Diomedis or Stabulo Diomedis, was a town of ancient Thrace. Pliny the Elder writes "Oppidum fuit Tirida, Diomedis equorum stabulis dirum." This Diomedes was the king of the Bistones who was in the habit of throwing strangers to be devoured by his savage horses, till at length he himself was punished in the same way by Heracles. Based on the passage of Pliny, William Smith identified Tirida with the town called Stabulum Diomedis in the Itineraries, that was located on the coast of Thrace on the Via Egnatia, 18 M.P. according to the Antonine Itinerary, 12 M.P. according to the Jerusalem Itinerary, from Porsula. Also in the 19th century, William Hazlitt wrote that Stabulum Diomedis' site was that of the earlier Dicaea. Martial talks about Tyrida in his De nuptiis, noting that it was located near regio Maronea. Some have suggested the town belonged to Geto-Dacian enclave.
The Caves of Hercules is an archaeological cave complex located in Cape Spartel, Morocco.
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