(8) Mares of Diomedes

• Who was Diomedes?

  King of the Bistones in Thrace
• What did Diomedes feed his horses?

  Limbs of defeated enemies and strangers
• What happened when Heracles arrived at Diomedes' stable?

  He defeated the stablemen looking after the horses
• What was Diomedes' reaction to the loss of his horses?

  He set out with his men to overcome Heracles
• Who did Heracles leave the horses with while he fought Diomedes?

  His companion Abderos
• What happened to Abderos while Heracles was away?

  The horses overpowered and ate him
• What did Heracles do to Diomedes after defeating him?

  He fed Diomedes to his own horses
• What happened to the horses after their appetites were calmed?

  Heracles took them back to Eurystheus
• What are the two differing accounts of what happened to the horses after Heracles took them back?

  • Freed to roam the plains of Argos
  • Killed by wild animals upon reaching Olympus
• What was the fate of the horses according to Apollodorus?

  They were killed by wild animals