In the case
of Ares v Diomedes, Athena represents the butt-kicker, err, the defendant. The
plaintiff contends that because he is a god, he will automatically win any
battle with a mortal. Furthermore, he seeks to provide evidence of this with
his willful slaughter of many, many Greeks on the field of battle outside of
Troy.
For the
Defendant, Athena seeks to prove that Ares is a blundering idiot who only knows
how to swing a sword or jab a spear while invisible to the eyes of the Greeks, and
that a hero of sufficient courage can defeat the god.
Sorry, no,
Zeus is not presiding over this case, we’re doing this old-school, trial by
combat.
Ares takes
to the battlefield and just starts slaughtering Greeks wholesale, and they have
no idea who or what is doing this because all they can see is that soldiers are
getting cut down by something they can’t see. They just try to avoid the area,
but Ares keeps wading into them. Well, everyone avoids him, even Diomedes.
No, he’s
not afraid, Athena told him point-blank that he was only allowed to go after
Aphrodite. But now she rescinds that order. In fact, she hops into the chariot
with him and aims for Ares. Somehow, she also has gotten the helmet of Hades,
and makes herself completely invisible to Ares.
Ares,
though, sees Diomedes, and likewise charges him. They’re both going full-tilt
at each other. Ares stabs out, and Athena deflects the blow. Diomedes stabs,
and Athena helps by leaning into it. And boom, “Ares the brazen bellowed with a
sound as great as nine thousand men make, or ten thousand” (V 859-860).
And then
he’s gone. He doesn’t stick around. The god of war is unused to being injured
and can likewise not handle it. Yes, Athena helped a little more this time,
but, really, Diomedes could’ve done the job himself. She only leaned into the
blow. What’s truly impressive is the fortitude of human beings vs that of the
gods. Two gods can only take one injury before they go running back to Olympus.
Diomedes is not a perfect warrior.
Before Athena found him again, he had been “cooling the wound that Pandaros
made with the cast of his arrow . . . and wiped the dark blot of blood away”
(794, 797), but he did so with style, not really noticing anything other than
an entire day’s exhaustion from fighting the Trojans, Aphrodite, and Apollo.
He’s just taking five and doesn’t hesitate to answer Athena’s call to do battle
with Ares. He’s all in.