Mares of Diomedes

Common card · No. 294570

In Greek mythology the Mares of Diomedes (Ancient Greek: Διομήδους ἵπποι, romanized: Diomēdous hippoi), were man-eating horses belonging to Diomedes of Thrace who were stabled, according to Pliny the Elder, in the now-vanished city of Tirida. The mares' diet comprised the unsuspecting guests of Diomedes. The eighth labour of Heracles was to retrieve the mares and bring them back to King Eurystheus. They were generally thought to be four in number and forming a chariot team. In mythological traditions regarding the labours of Heracles there are two broad versions of the story relating to the mares, with variations in the details appearing in different sources. In the first, which emerges earlier in the mythic tradition, Heracles goes alone and placates or distracts the horses by feeding them someone (the groom, the charioteer, or Diomedes himself), which enables him to gain control and take them back to Eurystheus. In the second, Heracles takes a band of men with him, including his lover...

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