Rhesus
Thracian king who brought white horses to Troy and was killed in his sleep by Odysseus and Diomedes on his first night.
The Legend of Rhesus
He never got to fight — he was murdered in his sleep on the very night he arrived, because a prophecy made him too dangerous to survive until morning. Rhesus arrived at Troy with magnificent white horses and a golden chariot. A prophecy stated that if his horses ate Trojan grass and drank Trojan water, Troy would be impregnable. Odysseus and Diomedes, having extracted this intelligence from the captured spy Dolon, infiltrated the Thracian camp that same night. They killed Rhesus and twelve warriors in their sleep, drove the horses to the Greek camp, and prevented the prophecy from being fulfilled. Euripides wrote a play called Rhesus (possibly spurious) about that single fatal night.
Parents
Eioneus, Muse Euterpe
Symbols
Fun Fact
Rhesus is possibly the only Trojan War hero whose entire myth takes place in a single night.
Explore Further
Eurystheus
🗡 herofate
King of Mycenae who assigned Heracles his twelve labours, born prematurely through Hera's manipulation to gain power over the demigod.
Oedipus
🗡 heroKing who fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother
The tragic king of Thebes who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother, fulfilling a prophecy he had spent his life trying to avoid.
Oenomaus
🗡 heroNone recorded
A king of Pisa who killed the suitors of his daughter Hippodamia in rigged chariot races until Pelops defeated him through trickery and divine favour
Laius
🗡 heroNone recorded
King of Thebes whose attempt to cheat fate led directly to the Oedipus tragedy
Amphiaraus
🗡 heroThe prophet who foresaw his own death at Thebes
A warrior-prophet who knew the Seven Against Thebes would fail but marched to his death anyway, swallowed by the earth.
Phineus
🗡 heroNone recorded
Blind Thracian king tormented by Harpies until rescued by the Argonauts
Busiris
🗡 heroNone recorded
Egyptian king who sacrificed strangers to Zeus until Heracles broke free and killed him
Menoeceus
🗡 herosacrifice, prophecy
A young Theban nobleman who sacrificed himself by leaping from the city walls to fulfil Tiresias's prophecy that only royal blood could save Thebes from the Seven.
Glaucus of Corinth
🗡 heroHorses, Hybris, Divine Punishment
Corinthian king and charioteer who fed his mares on human flesh; they devoured him during the funeral games of Pelias.
Phineus
🗡 heroprophecy, punishment
A blind Thracian king and prophet punished by Zeus for revealing divine secrets, tormented by Harpies until rescued by the Argonauts.
Calchas
🗡 heroprophecy
Chief seer of the Greek army at Troy who interpreted omens, demanded Iphigenia's sacrifice, and foretold the war's length.
Cassandra
🗡 heroProphetess cursed never to be believed
A Trojan princess blessed with prophecy by Apollo but cursed so that no one would ever believe her predictions. She foresaw Troy's destruction but could not prevent it.