Doloneia
conceptThe night raid in Iliad Book 10 where Odysseus and Diomedes infiltrate the Trojan camp and slaughter the Thracian king Rhesus.
The Myth
They crawled through no-man's land at midnight, captured a Trojan spy, extracted information, then murdered a sleeping king and stole his horses. The Doloneia is the Iliad's spy thriller. Hector sent Dolon to scout the Greek camp. Odysseus and Diomedes intercepted him. Dolon begged for his life and revealed everything — including that the newly-arrived Thracian king Rhesus had divine white horses. They killed Dolon anyway, then infiltrated the Thracian camp, killed Rhesus and twelve of his men in their sleep, and stole the horses. A prophecy said Troy could never fall if Rhesus's horses ate Trojan grass and drank Trojan water — Odysseus ensured they never did. Many scholars believe Book 10 was a later addition.
Symbols
Fun Fact
Many scholars believe the Doloneia was not written by Homer but inserted later — its tone differs from the rest of the Iliad.
Explore Further
Diomedes (Aristeia)
conceptThe extended battle sequence in Iliad Books 5-6 where Diomedes wounds both Aphrodite and Ares, the...
Trojan Horse
conceptThe hollow wooden horse used by the Greeks to infiltrate and destroy Troy. Devised by Odysseus, it...
Trojan War
conceptThe Trojan War was the central event of Greek mythology — a ten-year siege of Troy by a Greek...
Diomedes
heroDiomedes was the only mortal in the Iliad to wound two Olympian gods in a single day.
Hector
heroHector was Troy's greatest warrior, who fought not for glory but to defend his city, wife, and son.
Odysseus
heroThe cleverest of the Greek heroes, whose ten-year journey home from Troy is one of the greatest...
Odysseus (Trickster)
heroOdysseus was the most cunning of all Greek heroes — the man of polytropos (many turns), whose...
Rhesus
heroThracian king who brought white horses to Troy and was killed in his sleep by Odysseus and Diomedes...
Troy
placeThe legendary city in Asia Minor besieged by the Greeks for ten years in the Trojan War. Troy's...
Troy (Hisarlik)
placeHisarlik in Turkey is the archaeological site identified as Homer's Troy — multiple cities layered...
Actaeon's Transformation
conceptThe hunter who accidentally saw Artemis bathing naked and was transformed into a stag, then torn...
Adamantine Sickle
conceptThe unbreakable sickle forged by Gaia and given to Cronus to castrate his father Uranus, an act...