448 THE GREEK SAGAS: GREEK LOCAL LEGENDS
DlOMEDES
Diomedes, king of Argos, was a much greater warrior than Menelaus. He was
the son of Tydeus, and second only to Agamemnon in power and prestige. He
was also a wise counselor. He was a favorite of Athena and with her help could
oppose even the gods in battle. He wounded both Ares and Aphrodite. He was
especially associated with Odysseus, with whom he fetched Achilles from Scy-
ros and later Philoctetes from Lemnos. Odysseus was also his companion in the
night patrol where Dolon and Rhesus were killed and in the theft of the Palla-
dium from Troy. This Palladium (the statue of Pallas, which Athena had made
and Zeus cast down from heaven into Troy) was worshiped and looked upon
as a talisman for the city's survival. When Odysseus and Diomedes stole it, Troy
was doomed. Diomedes' meeting with Glaucus has already been described; his
adventures after the war are discussed in Chapter 20 (pp. 482^83).NESTOR
Nestor, son of Neleus and king of Pylos, was the oldest and wisest of the Greek
leaders. Like Priam, he had become king after Heracles sacked his city. In the
sack Neleus and all his sons except Nestor were killed. At Troy, Nestor was a
respected counselor, and his speeches, full of reminiscences, contrast with the
impetuosity of the younger princes. He himself survived the war, although his
son Antilochus was killed by Memnon. There is no tradition of his death.AJAX THE GREATER OF SALAMIS, THE SON OF TELAMON
Ajax, son of Telamon, was second only to Achilles as a warrior.^9 He is called the
Great (or Greater) to distinguish him from Ajax the Less (or Lesser), son of Oileus.
In the fighting before the Greek ships (Books 13-15) he was the most stalwart
defender, always courageous and the last to give ground to the enemy. Again
he was the Greek champion in the fight over the body of Patroclus in Book 17,
providing cover while Menelaùs and Meriones retreated with the body. At the
climax of that battle, he prayed to Zeus to dispel the mist of battle and let him
die in the clear sunlight, a striking scene in which the sudden appearance of the
sun and clear vision seems especially appropriate for this straightforward war-
rior. In the teichoskopia Priam asks Helen (Iliad 3. 226-229):f
"Who is this other Achaean warrior, valiant and great, who stands out from the
Achaeans with his head and broad shoulders?" [Helen replies] "This is Ajax, of
huge size, the bulwark of the Achaeans."
Ajax is both the foil to and the rival of Odysseus. His gruff and laconic speech
in the embassy to Achilles (Book 9), which we discuss later, contrasts with the
smooth words of the diplomatic Odysseus. In Book 23 they compete in the
footrace in the funeral games, and Ajax's defeat there foreshadows his far more