Mares of Diomedes
The Mares of Diomedes were four savage horses that King Diomedes of Thrace fed on human flesh, making them wild and uncontrollable — the eighth labour of Heracles.
The Myth of Mares of Diomedes
King Diomedes of the Bistones in Thrace kept four man-eating mares — Podargos, Lampon, Xanthos, and Deinos — chained to bronze mangers and fed on the flesh of unwary guests. For his eighth labour, Heracles was sent to capture them. He overpowered the grooms, drove the mares to the sea, and dug a channel to create an island. When Diomedes and the Bistones attacked, Heracles fed the king to his own horses. Sated on their master's flesh, the mares became calm enough to be led to Mycenae. Eurystheus dedicated them to Hera and released them; they wandered to Mount Olympus, where wild beasts — including wolves descended from the brood of Gaia — eventually devoured them. Some traditions say the horses of Alexander the Great descended from these mares.
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