Mares of Diomedes
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The Mares of Diomedes ( grc-gre, Διομήδους ἵπποι), also called the Mares of Thrace, were a herd of man-eating
horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
in
Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
. Magnificent, wild, and uncontrollable, they belonged to
Diomedes of Thrace In Greek mythology, King Diomedes of Thrace (Ancient Greek: Διομήδης) was the son of Ares and Cyrene. He lived on the shores of the Black Sea ruling the warlike tribe of Bistones. He is known for his man-eating horses, which Heracles ...
(not to be confused with
Diomedes Diomedes (Jones, Daniel; Roach, Peter, James Hartman and Jane Setter, eds. ''Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary''. 17th edition. Cambridge UP, 2006.) or Diomede (; grc-gre, Διομήδης, Diomēdēs, "god-like cunning" or "advised by ...
, son of
Tydeus Tydeus (; Ancient Greek: Τυδεύς ''Tūdeus'') was an Aetolian hero in Greek mythology, belonging to the generation before the Trojan War. He was one of the Seven against Thebes, and the father of Diomedes, who is frequently known by the patr ...
), king of
Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
, son of
Ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war b ...
and Cyrene who lived on the shores of the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
.
Bucephalus Bucephalus or Bucephalas (; grc, Βουκεφάλας, ; – June 326 BC) was the horse of Alexander the Great, and one of the most famous horses of classical antiquity. Ancient historical accounts state that Bucephalus' breed was tha ...
,
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
's horse, was said to be descended from these mares.


Mythology

As the eighth of his
Twelve Labours The Labours of Hercules or Labours of Heracles ( grc-gre, wikt:ὁ, οἱ wikt:Ἡρακλῆς, Ἡρακλέους wikt:ἆθλος, ἆθλοι, ) are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the ...
, also categorised as the second of the Non-
Peloponnesian The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
labours,
Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
was sent by King Eurystheus to steal the Mares from
Diomedes Diomedes (Jones, Daniel; Roach, Peter, James Hartman and Jane Setter, eds. ''Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary''. 17th edition. Cambridge UP, 2006.) or Diomede (; grc-gre, Διομήδης, Diomēdēs, "god-like cunning" or "advised by ...
. The mares’ madness was attributed to their unnatural diet which consisted of the flesh of unsuspecting guests or strangers to the island. Some versions of the myth say that the mares also expelled fire when they breathed. The Mares, which were the terror of Thrace, were kept tethered by iron chains to a bronze manger in the now vanished city of Tirida and were named Podargos (the swift), Lampon (the shining), Xanthos (the yellow) and Deinos (or Deinus, the terrible). Although very similar, there are slight variances in the exact details regarding the mares’ capture.  In one version, Heracles brought a number of volunteers to help him capture the giant horses. After overpowering Diomedes’ men, Heracles broke the chains that tethered the horses and drove the mares down to sea. Unaware that the mares were man-eating and uncontrollable, Heracles left them in the charge of his favored companion,
Abderus In Greek mythology, Abderus or Abderos (Ancient Greek: Ἄβδηρος) 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. Pseudo-Scymnos, ''Ci ...
, while he left to fight Diomedes. Upon his return, Heracles found that the boy was eaten. As revenge, Heracles fed Diomedes to his own horses and then founded Abdera next to the boy's tomb. In another version, Heracles, who was visiting the island, stayed awake so that he didn't have his throat cut by Diomedes in the night, and cut the chains binding the horses once everyone was asleep. Having scared the horses onto the high ground of a knoll, Heracles quickly dug a trench through the peninsula, filling it with water and thus flooding the low lying plain. When Diomedes and his men turned to flee, Heracles killed them with an axe (or a club), and fed Diomedes’ body to the horses to calm them. In yet another version, Heracles first captured Diomedes and fed him to the mares ''before'' releasing them. Only after realizing that their King was dead did his men, the Bistonians, attack Heracles. Upon seeing the mares charging at them, led in a chariot by Abderus, the Bistonians turned and fled. All versions have eating human flesh make the horses calmer, giving Heracles the opportunity to bind their mouths shut, and easily take them back to King Eurystheus, who dedicated the horses to
Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...
. In some versions, they were allowed to roam freely around
Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...
, having become permanently calm, but in others, Eurystheus ordered the horses taken to Olympus to be sacrificed to Zeus, but Zeus refused them, and sent wolves, lions, and bears to kill them.
Roger Lancelyn Green Roger Gilbert Lancelyn Green (2 November 1918 – 8 October 1987) was a British biographer and children's writer. He was an Oxford academic who formed part of the Inklings literary discussion group along with C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkie ...
states in his ''Tales of the Greek Heroes'' that the mares’ descendants were used in the
Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...
, and survived even to the time of Alexander the Great. After the incident, Eurystheus sent Heracles to bring back Hippolyta's Girdle.


Classical Literature Sources

Chronological listing of classical literature sources for the Mares of Diomedes: * Euripides, ''The Madness of Hercules'', 379 ff (trans. Way) (Greek tragedy C5th BC) * Euripides, ''Alcestis'' 479 ff (trans. Coleridge) (Greek tragedy C5th BC) * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 4. 15. 3 - 4 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek history C1st BC) * Lucretius, ''Of the Nature of Things'' 5 Proem 1 (trans. Leonard) (Roman philosophy C1st BC) * Ovid, ''Heroides'' 9. 69 ff (trans. Showerman) (Roman poetry C1st BC to C1st AD) * Ovid, ''Heroide''s 9. 87 ff * Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 9. 194 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman poetry C1st BC to C1st AD) * Strabo, ''Geography'' 7 Fragment 43 (44) (trans. Jones) (Greek geography C1st BC to C1st AD) * Strabo, ''Geography'' 7 Fragment 46 (47) * Philippus of Thessalonica, ''The Twelve Labors of Hercules'' (''The Greek Classics'' ed. Miller Vol 3 1909 p. 397) (Greek epigrams C1st AD) * Lucan, ''The Pharsalia of Lucan'' 2. 149 ff (trans. Riley) (Roman poetry C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Agamemnon'' 850 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Agamemnon'' 842 ff * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 226 ff (trans. Miller) * Seneca, ''Hercules Oetaeus'' 20 ff (trans. Miller) * Seneca, ''Hercules Oetaeus'' 1538 ff * Seneca, ''Hercules Oetaeus'' 1814 ff * Seneca, ''Hercules Oetaeus'' 1894 ff * Seneca, ''Troades'' 1105 ff (trans. Miller) * Statius, ''Thebaid'' 12. 154 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic poetry C1st AD) * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 2. 5. 8 (trans. Frazer) (Greek mythography C2nd AD) * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 3. 18. 12 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd AD) * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 5. 10. 9 * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabula''e 30 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythography C2nd AD). * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 159 * Ptolemaei Hephaestionis, ''Novarum historiarum'' Lib. 2 (trans. Roulez 1834 p. 70) (Alexandrine history C2 AD) * Gellius, ''The Attic Nights'' 3. 9 (trans Beloe) (Greek history C2AD) * Philostratus the Elder, ''Imagines'' 1. 17 (trans. Fairbanks) (Greek rhetoric C3rd AD) * Philostratus the Elder, ''Imagine''s 2. 25 The Burial of Abderos * Philostratus, ''Life of Apollonius'' of Tyana 5. 5 (trans. Conyreare) (Greek sophistry C3rd AD) * Quintus Smyrnaeus, ''Fall of Troy'' 6. 245 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic poetry C4th AD) * Stephanus Byzantium, ''Ethnicorum Quae Supersunt'', s.v. Abdêra (ed. Meinekii) (Greco-Byzantine mythography C6AD) * Boethius, ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' 4. 7. 13 ff (trans. Rand & Stewart) (Roman philosophy C6th AD) * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Histories'' 2. 299 ff (trans. Untila et al.) (Greco-Byzantine history C12 AD) * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Histories'' 2. 499 ff * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Histories'' 2. 799 ff


Mares of Diomedes in modern fiction

# Percy Jackson and the Olympians- The Battle of the Labyrinth, by Rick Riordan. Although not referred to directly as the Mares of Diomedes in the book, Diomedes himself is mentioned in chapter eight (We Visit the Demon Dude Ranch), and the horses, who are mentioned in chapters eight and nine (I Scoop Poop), are described as both fire-breathing and flesh-eating. # ''
The Labours of Hercules ''The Labours of Hercules'' is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1947 and in the UK by Collins Crime Club in September of the same year.Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and ...
'' by
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
''The Labours of Hercules'' is divided into twelve stories, each named after one of the
Twelve Labours of Hercules The Labours of Hercules or Labours of Heracles ( grc-gre, wikt:ὁ, οἱ wikt:Ἡρακλῆς, Ἡρακλέους wikt:ἆθλος, ἆθλοι, ) are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the ...
in Greek mythology. One such story is called "The Horses of Diomedes".


References


Sources

*
Pseudo-Apollodorus The ''Bibliotheca'' (Ancient Greek: grc, Βιβλιοθήκη, lit=Library, translit=Bibliothēkē, label=none), also known as the ''Bibliotheca'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus, is a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends, arranged in three book ...
, '' Bibliotheca'' ii.5.8 *
Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ;  1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...
. ''
Bibliotheca historica ''Bibliotheca historica'' ( grc, Βιβλιοθήκη Ἱστορική, ) is a work of universal history by Diodorus Siculus. It consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in theme, ...
, Book 4.15'' *
Quintus Smyrnaeus Quintus Smyrnaeus (also Quintus of Smyrna; el, Κόϊντος Σμυρναῖος, ''Kointos Smyrnaios'') was a Greek epic poet whose ''Posthomerica'', following "after Homer", continues the narration of the Trojan War. The dates of Quintus Smy ...
. ''Fall of Troy, Book 6.270 ff'' *
Philostratus the Elder Philostratus of Lemnos ( grc-gre, Φιλόστρατος ὁ Λήμνιος; c. 190 – c. 230 AD), also known as Philostratus the Elder to distinguish him from Philostratus the Younger who was also from Lemnos, was a Greek sophist of the Roman Emp ...
. '' Imagines 2.25''


External links


12 Labours
Perseus Project, Tufts University {{Twelve tasks of Hercules Greek mythology of Thrace Labours of Hercules Monsters in Greek mythology Horses in mythology Fire-breathing monsters Female legendary creatures