Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...

, Dolon (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

: Δόλων, gen.: Δόλωνος) fought for

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

during 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 ...

Dolon's night mission in Homer's ''Iliad''

Dolon was the son of

Eumedes Eumedes (Ancient Greek: Εὐμήδης) was a name attributed to seven individuals in Greek mythology. *Eumedes, father of Acallaris who married Tros, king of Dardania.Dionysius of Halicarnassus''Antiquitates Romanae'' 1.62.2/ref> *Eumedes, a ...

and had five sisters. Considered a fast runner, after a request by

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

in which all the Trojan men were called together, Dolon volunteered to spy on the Greek ships and check whether or not, as well as how, the Greeks were still guarding them. In exchange, Hector offered the horses and bronze chariot of

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...

as his prize at the end of the war. Fearing deceit, Dolon demanded that Hector swore to fulfill the promised reward. Dolon departed, wearing a wolf skin and a weasel-skin cap in order to blend into his surroundings. His plan was to deceive the Greeks by walking on all fours. By chance, he was spotted by

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odys ...

and

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 ...

while they were on a secret raid to plunder the Trojans. The Greek warriors saw Dolon coming and hid in the bodies of the dead so that Dolon could not see them. Diomedes chased Dolon down with help from Athena. Dolon begged for his life, telling the two warriors that he was worth a valuable ransom as his father, Eumedes, was very wealthy. Odysseus said that he would not kill Dolon if he told the two of them why he was spying on the Greeks. Dolon told Odysseus everything he needed to know, including his potential prize, before Odysseus explained to him that he had been tricked by Hector; only Achilles had the ability to control the horses that he was to receive. Dolon then informed the two Greeks which Trojan allies were living in which tent and what their strengths were. After this, he was

decapitated Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

by Diomedes before the two went into the Trojan camp to wreak havoc, slaying Rhesus, 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 ...

, and stealing his valuable horses. His son

, named after Dolon's father, survived the Trojan War to later fight and die by the hand of

Turnus Turnus ( grc, Τυρρηνός, Tyrrhênós) was the legendary King of the Rutuli in Roman history, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas in Virgil's ''Aeneid''. According to the ''Aeneid'', Turnus is the son of Daunus and the nymph Ve ...

under the command of

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. 12.353-361.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Trojans