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_08.jpg) Heracles before capturing the Mares of Diomedes. Roman mosaic, 3rd century AD | |
| Creature information | |
|---|---|
| Grouping | Legendary creature |
| Sub grouping | Man-eating horses |
| Folklore | Greek mythology |
| Origin | |
| Country | Greece |
| Region | Thrace |
TheMares of Diomedes (Ancient Greek:Διομήδους ἵπποι,romanized: Diomēdous hippoi), also called theMares of Thrace, were a herd of man-eatinghorses inGreek mythology. Magnificent, wild, and uncontrollable, they belonged toDiomedes of Thrace (not to be confused withDiomedes, son ofTydeus), king ofThrace, son ofAres andCyrene who lived on the shores of theBlack Sea.Bucephalus,Alexander the Great's horse, was said to be descended from these mares.[1]
As the eighth of hisTwelve Labours, also categorised as the second of the Non-Peloponnesian labours,[2]Heracles was sent byKing Eurystheus to steal the Mares fromDiomedes. The mares’ madness was attributed to their unnatural diet which consisted of the flesh[3] of unsuspecting guests or strangers to the island.[4] Some versions of the myth say that the mares alsoexpelled fire when they breathed.[5] The Mares, which were the terror of Thrace, were kept tethered by iron chains to a bronze manger in the now vanished city ofTirida[6] and were named Podargos (the swift), Lampon (the shining), Xanthos (the blond) and Deinos (or Deinus, the terrible).[7] 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.[6] 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, 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 foundedAbdera next to the boy's tomb.[4]
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[6]), and fed Diomedes’ body to the horses to calm them.
In yet another version, Heracles first captured Diomedes and fed him to the maresbefore releasing them. Only after realizing that their King was dead did his men, theBistonians,[4][6] 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 toHera.[8] In some versions, they were allowed to roam freely aroundArgos, 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.[9]Roger Lancelyn Green states in hisTales of the Greek Heroes that the mares’ descendants were used in theTrojan War, and survived even to the time of Alexander the Great.[6][10] After the incident, Eurystheus sent Heracles to bring backHippolyta's Girdle.
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Chronological listing of classical literature sources for the Mares of Diomedes:
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