Last Update: 28 Mar 2021

8. Labor: The Mares of Diomedes

The eighth challenge which Eurystheus, the king of Mycenae, made to Heracles was to capture the mares of Diomedes and bring them to him alive. Diomedes was the king of Thrace ( Northern Greece) and a son of Ares, the god of war. He owned four wild mares that used to eat the flesh of any passerby.

Each mare had a name and, according to one myth, the horses of Alexander the Great were descendants of these mares. Heracles killed Diomedes and gave his flesh to the mares to eat. In this way, it is said, the mares were tamed and Heracles was able to give them to Eurystheus. Eurystheus then set them free at Mount Olympus, where they were devoured by the wild beasts.