sonoftydeusthemusical

[sonoftydeusthemusical]

Diomedes Week June 7th - 13th and 12th - 18th July

There will be TWO weeks to allow as many people as possible to enter this event!

The first one will be June 7th - 13th the second will be July 12th - 18th

The second one will have a repeat of the prompts of week one PLUS new prompts for each day  The prompts for both weeks will be released now to give people time to prep! 

The examples given are only examples, feel free to do ANYTHING that vaguely falls under these prompts!

Here are the general rules for both weeks: 

Contributions can be any fanwork: fanart, fanfiction, DIY, an altar, really anything!

Tag @diomedesweek and put it under the #diomedesweek tag

Tag the right fandoms, try to avoid crosstagging

You don't have to do all prompts, you can! Do as many as you want

You can pick either one or both or all three of the prompts of the day

Nsfw and suggestive content is allowed AS LONG as it’s marked as such and put under a spoiler, the same goes for gore and violence, use Content Warnings where appropriate

Links to work outside of tumblr (i.e. ao3, bluesky) are allowed!

The use of generative AI is prohibited

Late submissions are fine!

No character bashing or hate towards fans or fan works, have fun and be kind!

Some more Tips:

Prompts will be posted well ahead, so feel free to create things in advance and queue them up for the day of the prompt if you’re busy on any day!

The digital library “Topostext” has a database sorted via characters if you look for Diomedes there (https://topostext.org/people/124) you can find all mentions of him in the most important ancient sources, it’s a great place for research, his Wikipedia page is also very extensive! Use this opportunity to learn more about him!

For anyone who may want to dig REALLY deep into his character I have compiled a document (https://tinyurl.com/Diomedes-Doc) with sources and papers that are about him or relevant to him, feel free to use it or don’t! Just have fun with it!

Prompts Week 1

Day 1 -> Childhood (i.e. becoming king / oath)

-> Rare Pair (i.e. romantic / platonic)

Day 2 -> Gods (i.e. athena / fighting the gods)

-> Headcanon (i.e. ichor scars / ftm)

Day 3 -> War (i.e. troy / thebes / calydon)

-> (Animal) Symbolism (i.e. boar / albatross)

Day 4 -> Trojan War Characters (i.e. odysseus / outside the battlefield)

-> Epithets (i.e. horse-tamer / lord of the war-cry)

Day 5 -> Family (i.e. found family / blood family)

-> AU (i.e. modern / alternative events)

Day 6 -> After Troy (i.e. exile / homecoming)

-> Favorite Trope (i.e. hurt comfort / angst / fluff)

Day 7 -> Diomedes / Free day

Prompts Week 2 (+ Week 1 prompts)

Day 1 -> Epigoni (i.e. war at thebes / sthenelus)

Day 2 -> Consequence (i.e. PTSD / made enemies)

Day 3 -> Son Of Tydeus (i.e. cannibalism / living up to expectations)

Day 4 -> Blood (i.e. bloodshed / wounds)

Day 5 -> Hero Cult (i.e. “lord of the adriatic sea” / worship)

Day 6 -> Death (i.e. deification / argos / italy)

Day 7 -> Diomedes / Free day Asks are open if you have any more questions or concerns! 🧡

[sonoftydeusthemusical]

[sonoftydeusthemusical]

This is amazing 🥰

Diomedes my beloved <3

Design by @deadbaguette (yes I changed the shield slightly - that was too many horses😪)

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My favourite thing in odysseus and/or diomedes fanart is when they draw them with owl!athena and they draw her as like a barn owl or a great horned owl or something cool like that even though athena’s owl is specifically a little owl (athene noctua) which is the cutest most darling thing ever

Imagine fearsome diomedes, son of tydeus and master of the war cry, with this angry little fucker in the palm of his hand

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Diomedes is not so fundamentally different from his father.

I HAVE DELIVERED

After months of dragging my feet, I finally fished it! (in 4 hours holy shit) and I'm kinda proud of it, but this is probably also the product of my excessive overthinking, but with not further ado, let's begin!

Let’s start with the basics: Tydeus was known for being a wild, out-of-control warrior. His rage was legendary. Diomedes? On paper, he’s the golden child: loyal, calm, respectful, chosen by Athena herself.

But that image of diomedes comes crashing down the moment you dig deeper into his character

On the surface, Diomedes is framed as the “better” version of his father, Tydeus: more disciplined, more strategic, favored by Athena instead of punished by her as stated previously. The Achaeans respect him (not so much leave the poor boy alone let him have his moment instead of comparing him to his father), the gods empower him, and Homer seems to elevate him as the model warrior.

But as i said, when you dig into the text, really look at what Diomedes does, how he fights, how he speaks, you start to see something much deeper and darker: he's not all that different from Tydeus at all when you think about it.

Reading the iliad but focusing on diomedes character its as if he’s constantly on the edge, just barely containing something

he’s a machine of destruction. He slaughters Trojans left and right, wounds Aphrodite without hesitation, and goes after Ares, the literal god of war. He only stops when Apollo himself tells him to back off—and even then, he makes a move again before finally being shut down.

That kind of divine defiance? That’s Tydeus-level rage. It’s just masked under a sheen of Athena’s wisdom and a more calculated cool. Diomedes may wear the face of the perfect Homeric hero, but there’s a savage streak that echoes his father’s madness, just barely held in check.

In the iliad book 10 dio and ody sneak in trojan teritory they catch dolon a trojan spie

Odysseus promises to spare him if he gives them info about the trojans and man sure does he spill

After that? Diomedes decapitates him.

He doesn’t just kill Dolon (after promising to spare him,) he slaughters him, strips him, and then goes on a joyride of death through the enemy camp. When they find Rhesus and his Thracians, Diomedes doesn’t blink—he kills twelve men in their sleep. And then he wants to keep going, like it’s not enough. It’s only when Athena, again, steps in and essentially says, “Okay, calm down now,” that he stops. In this book with Rhesus and the Thracians, Diomedes is already done. He’s already got what he came for. But instead of retreating, he chooses to kill—because it’s not about necessity. It’s about the desire to keep going.

And what’s so chilling about this is how pointless it is, tactically. After Dolon gives them all the info, they don’t need to go murder a dozen men. Diomedes chooses to. He gets no kleos, no divine reward. he doesn’t need a prize. The violence is the prize. He just does it. Because he can.

it’s explicit in the language Homer uses. Diomedes is in full battle ecstasy mode. described as moving like a lion among sheep, grinning and glorying in the chaos. he doesn’t just kill efficiently.

He revels in it.

He likes it, he thrives on the battlefield, and he enjoys bloodshed

"And the son of Tydeus, Diomedes, was glad in his heart as he struck down the men." Iliad book 5

"Glad in his heart" That phrase ("χα���ρε δὲ θυμῷ") pops up in a moments of sheer war ecstasy. It’s not just duty or valor—it’s joy. And when you see it describing Diomedes mid-slaying spree? That’s not your clean-cut hero. That’s a man dancing on the edge of madness.

it’s not just duty. It’s pleasure.

This illustrates how Diomedes isn’t just acting out of obligation not out of practicality, not out of necessity he’s relishing in the kill. It’s not just about the heroics or strategy; there’s an almost primal enjoyment in the violence itself.

The fact that he “was glad in his heart” tells you how far this man is from just being a noble warrior. He’s got that bloodlust burning inside him, and there’s an undeniable thrill in the destruction. It's scary how much he enjoys the suffering.

It’s clear that Diomedes, despite his noble status and divine favor, has that same chaotic, destructive edge his father Tydeus had—it’s just barely held in check.

That bloodlust? That JUST SCREAMS tydeus the difference?: Diomedes knows how to leash it. He’s not the monster his father was; he’s the tamer of that monster within himself. That restraint is what elevates him from being another brutal warrior into something greater: a true hero who chooses to remain in control, even when the thrill of violence is right there.

In fact, the only real difference is that Diomedes is simply better at pretending he’s in control. He puts on the face of the noble hero, but underneath, that same wildfire of rage, that same lust for blood, is burning—just like it was in Tydeus.

Diomedes doesn’t just embody the traits of a Homeric hero—he tests their limits. He walks a razor-thin line between earning immortal kleos and crossing into the kind of reckless savagery the gods despise. The same rage that drives his heroism threatens to tip him into hubris at any moment; and he gets away with it every time.

What makes Diomedes so compelling and so chilling is not that he lacks the ferocity of his father but that he’s better at hiding it. Tydeus is obvious in his rage; he makes no effort to conceal the monster he is. Diomedes, on the other hand, knows how to perform the role of the ideal hero: the noble warrior, the obedient champion of Athena

He’s not more virtuous—he’s just more strategic. He doesn’t kill less, or more cleanly, or even more justly. He kills with the same savage delight, but with the awareness to pull back just before he crosses a line that would cost him divine favor or mortal admiration. This ability to pretend, to wear a hero’s mask while feeding the same destructive instincts as Tydeus hiding the underlying madness behind that mask, makes Diomedes the more dangerous figure. Tydeus may have lost control; but Diomedes hides his control so well, it’s easy to forget what he’s controlling in the first place.

What makes this ironic is that Diomedes, despite all his bloodlust and near-madness, still (in some versions), gets the immortality that was denied to his father. Tydeus, who couldn’t contain his violent nature, ended up punished by the gods; he was denied the eternal glory he craved. Diomedes, on the other hand, dances on the edge of divine retribution, right there with him, and yet, he walks away with not just divine favor but immortality itself.

He’s not Tydeus 2.0.

He’s Tydeus 2.0 with better self-control

And honestly,

I think he kinda fooled all of us

[sonoftydeusthemusical]

working on something 👀

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Would you guys be mad if Aeneas played a major role but it wouldn't be Aeneid accurate

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Statue of Diomedes

Roman copy from the 2nd-3rd century CE after a Greek original of the 5th century.

This statue represents Diomedes stealing the Palladium. The Palladion, an effigy of Pallas Athena, was a protective talisman for Troy, housed in a magnificent temple located in the Troy’s citadel.

The importance of the Palladium to Troy’s fate was revealed to the Greeks by Helenus, the prophetic son of Priam. The Greeks learned from him, that Troy would not fall while the Palladium remained within Troy's walls. Diomedes and Odysseus made their way to the citadel in Troy by a secret passage and carried it off.

Diomedes is sometimes regarded as the hero who physically stole the Palladium, and carried it away to the ships.

(Louvre Museum.)

[sonoftydeusthemusical]

ok these r the last aeneas’ for a bit (that is probably a lie)

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Aeneas

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The worship of Diomedes

Diomedes was a fairly well-known hero who was worshipped; according to the myths and folklore surrounding him, he was even a founder of certain areas.

Places of worship: Diomedes' cults were predominantly located in Cyprus, Metapontum, and other cities along the Adriatic Sea (the archaeological evidence for the hero cult of Diomedes comes mostly from this area). There are also remnants of this cult in regions like Cyprus and some mainland Greek cities, evidenced by the inscriptions on votive offerings found in temples and tombs. However, the popularity is most evident along the eastern coast of Italy. This cult extended far east in the Mediterranean due to the Achaean migration during the 8th century. The most distinct votive offerings to the hero were found on the island of Palagruža in the Adriatic. Strabo claims that the votive offerings in the Daunian temple of Athena at Luceria included votive offerings specifically dedicated to Diomedes. Worship of Diomedes occurred not only in Greece but also along the Adriatic coast, particularly at Thurii and Metapontum. In Argos, his birthplace, during the festival of Athena, his shield was paraded through the streets as a relic, alongside the Palladium, and his statue was washed in the river Inachus. Two islands were named after the hero, known as the Islands of Diomedes, believed to be in the Palagruža archipelago in the Adriatic. Strabo reflects on the unique characteristics of this island, including the history linked to Diomedes' journeys and the regions and peoples he influenced the most. He writes that Diomedes held sovereignty over the areas surrounding the Adriatic, citing the Islands of Diomedes as proof, along with the various tribes who worshiped him even in contemporary times, such as the Heneti and the Dauni. The Heneti sacrificed a white horse to Diomedes in sacred groves where wild animals became tame. 

Sources:

Farnell, Lewis Richard. Greek Hero Cults and Ideas of Immortality. Chicago: Ares Publishers Inc., 1921: 290)

Strabo, Geography 6.3.9.

Callimachus, Λοετρὰ Παλλάδος, line 35.

Strabo, Geography 5.1.9

[sonoftydeusthemusical]

Do you have designs for other characters in mind yet? Like Tydeus, Odysseus, Sthenelus, etc.? I would love to draw fanart for SoT!

At the moment we have been working on a design for Aeneas lately, though we haven't finished it yet ♡

For Tydeus, his design will likely be very similiar to Diomedes, just with 10x more scars (and some other details) ✨️😀

But yeah we don't have other finialized designs atm 💔 bc we're still working on what specific role the characters will play in the story and how those will affect their designs!

We'll share their designs as soon as we have them though 🤍

We really do need more designs for them, the gods, Aegialeia....oh my...

[sonoftydeusthemusical]

We posted it ♡

[sonoftydeusthemusical]

🧡Happy Aprils Fools!🧡

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Actually, there is nothing better than brainstorming with friends, did you know that?

- L