L’initiation de Diomède dans l’Iliade (Chants 5-6)

by Éric RAIMOND, in Res Antiquae 14, 2017.

Diomedes aristeia in the Iliad 5 and the Meeting between the Achean Hero and Prince Glaucus of Lycia, that introduces the tale of Belleropho, may be interpreted, in a symbolic view, as initiatic path of an Homeric superhuman. Goddess Athena infuses a more and more powerful menos in Diomedes. She gives him an initiatic vision, which allows him to distinguish gods amongst men on the battlefield. Tale of Belleropho provokes another evolution of the hero, figured metaphorically through the armors exchange. This inspired story, made with many hardships, whose meaning is transcendence, let Diomedes to transmute himself from a bronze warrior into a golden wiseman.

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