#something in how odysseus in his behavior is a lot more animal-like than diomedes

[be-it-so]

The last one is just so good.

It also suits so well in one wonderful post I read about how Odysseus and Diomedes mirror each other and how their stories are opposite in their directions.

For the next part, I am very unsure, so let me call this headcanons because the more i reread this, the more i doubt, and continue.

I've quickly looked through the illiad with the word search and checked every time Odysseus or Diomedes were compared to boar, and there is one thing. Diomedes is compared to a boar in situations when he is attacking people with his rage and strength. while Odysseus is compared to boar when he is surrounded by many foes willing to kill him, just like the boar is surrounded by dogs and people during hunt.

So Diomedes is being boar when he is the one acting when he is attacking when he is the one with initiative while Odysseus is being boar when he can't use his usual ways to escape a situation.

let me explain what i mean.

Being boar for Diomedes is something he "wears" just as his father's armor, just as his legacy, it is his role in this war (and not only trojan). He was forced to be this boar-like warrior to honor his father to be worth him.

While Odysseus's role in Trojan War is different. he is not known and valued the most for his strength (he is wonderful warrior but we can agree that it isn't his "main thing") he is so important for greeks because of his mind, his wits, his plans and etc. So when he is represented as a boar, it is not something he is forced or used to do. It is not a role he is playing to escape this situation. It is just about who he is in this situation.

And there is something in this how Odysseus' connection to boar (comparisons or his scar) is something defining himself without his acting and how Diomedes' connection with boar is his main act.

(Also, an interesting thing i noticed is how it is usually greeks who are compared with boars while trojans called like this a lot more rare and they are a lot often compared to hounds before boar hunt)

And about your question about armor. The closest thing i found is this:

"...Then too remember the enameled cuirass worn by Diomedes, crafted by Hephaistos."

It's book VIII when Hector is encouraging trojans to follow greeks while Diomedes and Nestor are retreating. It does not directly state that it is Tydeus armor, but we know that Tydeus had Hephaestus' cuirass with boar image it's not like Hephaestus is giving away his work to any hero. So it can be a source of this.

But it is still strange considering that Diomedes and Glaukos in book VI exchanged armor, and Homer is even making fun of Glaukos for giving away his expansive armor for Diomedes' cheap one:

"...But Zeus had stolen Glaukos’ wits away— the young man gave up golden gear for bronze, took nine bulls’ worth for armor worth a hundred!"

And it is very unlikely for Homer to say this if Diomedes' armor was made by god. Maybe these two are talking about different parts of armor, considering "gear" is a more general concept. But i guess in this case it is better to look into greek text.

odydio and boar parallels

good morning evening and night folks i have been pondering THIS for 12 hours straight and after writing what. appears to be a beautiful essay in my words doc i’ve just decided to throw all my thoughts at the wall instead. love that essay but it is becoming so very well-written academic work and i am so deeply unserious online.

anyways. on the subject of odysseus and diomedes and their shared boar vibes. the thing i kept coming back to was how boars were fucking TERRIFYING in ancient greece. to the point where the calydonian boar hunt (essentially just 30 dudes rocking up to kill a divine pig*) is a whole Event its a whole Heroic Tale. because you think 30 dudes can get that boar without a scratch WRONG two guys die and peleus stabs some other dude in the confusion. boars are ruthless and frankly overpowered as fuck little bastards in ancient greece and of the four i can think of with names at least TWO of them had divine origins somehow (calydonian and crommyonian).

and honestly? ruthless, terrifying as fuck, difficult for a horde of men to stop let alone some guy? got some nebulous relationship to the gods that give you strength? holy shit thats tydeus right there babey. he kills like 49 guys and sends the other one home as a warning. he literally gets married off of Boar Vibes dude. its his whole personality.

and so obviously diomedes, whose entire job for ten years is Bring Honor To Dead Father, is like well shit! time to adopt the whole boar vibe! i mean he’s literally compared to a boar in book V with unending strength truly he is the boar guy junior. he fights hordes of thebans/calydonians/trojans without resting, he cuts down hundreds of men without mercy, he gets athenas favor and despite how well he plays the part he is so tired. he’s ruthless, but does he want to be? he’s skilled in battle, but has he known anything else? he’s favored by the gods, but did he ever have a choice in that?

meanwhile odysseus. odysseus who is scarred by the boar he hunted as a child on his thigh. escaped what is otherwise certain death. marked so deeply by an animal so connected to divine rage that it transcends even athena’s disguise. it is this scar, that proved him equal in combat to that boar, that identifies him to his friends and family. that helps him retake his house and throne. just. the scar itself cements odysseus’ mortality but it also transcends any attempt at concealing who he is.

anyways putting all these thoughts together. i think that for diomedes the boar symbolism is something that doesn’t quite fit. its something that stretches and aches, like an old shirt thats too tight, because its not indicative of him its indicative of tydeus. but tydeus died at thebes, and diomedes has to live up to his legacy, so he tries regardless and it never quite feels right. meanwhile odysseus fights tooth and nail to survive, even when he’s surrounded like a boar by hunters and their dogs. sacks cities and kills hundreds of men and for all the help he gets from the immortal gods, odysseus remains wholly mortal. maybe the real disguise is how diomedes is the one scarred and odysseus is the boar, but neither of them look it.