Diomedes in the Iliad

Diomedes holds a special place in the Achaean camp of the Iliad: he is at once the youngest of the basilewes and one of the most experienced in warfare. No other Greek hero is as important on the battlefield or as narratively dominant in Achilles’ absence. Yet despite his prominence in the Iliad he remains little studied. This paper will explore how Diomedes navigates the class of basilewes and rises in the ranks to become the second most important of the Achaeans in both war and counsel. The study is based on an analysis of his speeches and deliberation in the assembly and seeks to demonstrate that Diomedes’ speech follows a clear pattern that evolves as he grows in confidence and importance in this sphere.

Diomedes receives his first full introduction in Bk. 4 of the Iliad, where Agamemnon accuses him of cowering before the foe and not living up to his father’s reputation of bravery. He ends his neikos by proclaiming that Tydeus “fathered a son worse than him in battle, but better in the assembly.” (Il. 4.399–400) From this point onwards, Diomedes toils to prove his superiority on the battlefield. He succeeds, killing many Trojans and wounding two gods, Ares and Aphrodite. By Bk. 5 Diomedes has supplanted Achilles as the best of the Achaeans (ἄριστον Ἀχαιῶν; Il. 5.414). His new status in the battlefield should translate to the assembly, but the hero is hesitant to participate fully in the assembly due to Agamemnon’s previous accusation.

I maintain that the key to understanding Diomedes’ development as a speaker is the formula ‘ὀψὲ δὲ δὴ μετέειπε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης’ (Il. 7.399; 9.31; 9.696), which prefaces his first three speeches before the assembly. These speeches come at a moment of tension where the other chiefs fail to respond, and Diomedes eventually offers the response that satisfies the Achaeans. The pivotal moment comes after his second speech, in which he chastises Agamemnon, who wants sail back home, and urges the others to remain. His speech is met with general approval but is ammended by Nestor, who commends him for his good counsel but claims that he has not reached the τέλος μύθων (Il. 9.56), attributing this fault to his youth. In his next speech, after the failed embassy, Diomedes not only urges, but commands the Achaeans to make dinner, sleep and plan to fight the following morning. His speech is met with the praise of all the chieftains ‘ὣς ἔφαθ᾽, οἱ δ᾽ ἄρα πάντες ἐπῄνησαν βασιλῆες᾽ (Il. 710). The τέλος μύθων has been reached. After receiving this unanimous approval, Diomedes no longer waits to speak. The formula ὀψὲ δὲ δὴ μετέειπε is never again used to introduce his speech and his advice is directly sought by Agamemnon (14.107-134). This extreme and immediate change in his speaking pattern suggests that is not Diomedes, but his status that has changed. Diomedes always knew what to say, he only waited to speak out of deference to his elders and his desire to style himself first and foremost as a warrior.