Diomedes- Greek HeroHero"Lord of the War Cry"

Son of Tydeus

Diomedes was the son of Tydeus and Deipyle, daughter of King Adrastus of Argos. His father died during the first expedition of the Seven against Thebes, denied Athena's gift of immortality when the goddess saw him gnawing the head of his slain enemy Melanippus. Diomedes grew up in Argos and, as one of the Epigoni, led the second successful siege of Thebes to avenge his father. He also restored his grandfather Oeneus to power in Calydon after the throne was usurped.

The Aristeia at Troy

At Troy, Athena granted Diomedes a divine aristeia — the ability to see gods on the battlefield and the strength to fight them. He wounded Aeneas with a crushing blow and then drove his spear into Aphrodite's wrist when she tried to rescue her son, sending the goddess screaming back to Olympus. He then charged Ares himself and, with Athena guiding his spear, struck the war god in the belly, driving him howling from the field. No other mortal wounded two Olympians in a single day.

Night Raids and the Palladium

Diomedes was a close ally of Odysseus throughout the war. Together they undertook a daring night raid on the Trojan camp, killing the Thracian king Rhesus and stealing his miraculous white horses before they could drink from the Scamander. In later traditions, Diomedes and Odysseus also infiltrated Troy's citadel to steal the Palladium, the sacred image of Athena on which the city's fate depended. Without the Palladium, Troy's divine protection was broken.

The Armor Exchange and After

Between battles, Diomedes met the Lycian warrior Glaucus between the lines and, discovering their grandfathers had been guest-friends, exchanged armor instead of fighting — Glaucus offering gold worth a hundred oxen for Diomedes's bronze worth nine, an exchange Homer attributes to Zeus stealing Glaucus's wits. After the war, Diomedes returned to Argos to find his wife unfaithful. He left Greece and sailed to southern Italy, where he founded several cities.