The situation in book 10 with Odysseus and Diomedes taking Dolon as
a captive is reminiscent of an earlier incident involving Agamemnon, Menelaus
and Adrastus. In book 6, Menelaus has a momentary lapse of judgment when he
accepts the supplication of Adrastus and intends on sparing his life and
collecting a ransom for him. His mind is abruptly changed after a chiding from
his brother, Agamemnon, and he slaughters the captive instead. Agamemnon
insinuates that his brother has “gone soft”, thus insulting his masculinity. To
remedy this insinuation and to reassert his manliness, Menelaus is persuaded to
take a more vicious and less logical action. Apparently, bie conquers metis in
this situation.
Similarly, after Diomedes and Odysseus capture the Trojan spy,
Dolon, they tell him they have no intention of killing him and that they only
want information. After telling the two Greek spies vital military information
regarding the current positions of the resting Trojan allies, Diomedes slays
him. The description of Dolon’s death is more than cringe-worthy. As he reaches
up to touch Diomedes’ chin in supplication, Diomedes suddenly reaches behind
his head with sword in hand, and severs the back of his neck. This same kind of
sudden and extreme brutality is exhibited by Menelaus in book 6. The situation
is almost a mirror of the first occurrence; the reader is tempted to equate
Diomedes to Agamemnon, and Odysseus to Menelaus. If such a comparison can
be made, does that mean the epic is trying to tell the reader/listener to align
Menelaus with wily Odysseus, the embodiment of metis? What does this say about the violent tendencies of Diomedes
and Agamemnon as the ‘poster boys’ for bie?
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