Dolon

Dolon

Lesserwell-documentedAncient Greek epicTroy (Anatolia)Achaean camp (Aegean)
Origin

Dolon appears in the Homeric epic tradition as a Trojan volunteer scout during the Trojan War. Identified in the sources as the son of Eumedes, he offers himself at Hector's request to undertake a night reconnaissance of the Greek camp. His episode is narrated in the Iliadic material associated with Book 10 and is preserved in later summaries and artistic references; the sources treat him as a literary, mortal character rather than a deity, daimon, or ghost.

Appearance

The provided sources identify Dolon as a Trojan and the son of Eumedes but supply no detailed physical description (such as height, clothing, or distinguishing marks). Ancient summaries and the Homeric citations referenced name his social role (a volunteer spy under Hector) and his narrative fate (capture and execution) but do not record concrete visual attributes in the excerpts available.

Abilities

In the textual record consulted, Dolon's documented abilities are those of a mortal combatant and scout: he volunteers to perform espionage, undertakes a night mission to reconnoiter the Greek camp, and when captured by the Greek heroes Diomedes and Odysseus he provides information under interrogation. The sources explicitly present him as a human actor with no supernatural powers; his significance is narrative rather than magical.

Weaknesses & Wards

Weaknesses

  • condition
    mortality / vulnerability to capture and execution

Wards

  • other
    No wards attested in sources
More from Ancient Greek epic

Abas

Abas (Ancient Greek: Ἄβας, gen.: Ἄβαντος) is not a single mythic being but a recurring personal name borne by multiple mortals and minor mythic figures in Greek epic and genealogical traditions — kings, founders, seers, warriors, attendants, a centaur, and a youth transformed by a goddess. The name is glossed in the sources as 'guileless' or 'good-hearted' and appears across Argive, Theban, Trojan, Euboean, and other local cycles.

Adrastus

Adrastus (Ancient Greek: Ἄδραστος or Ἄδρηστος) is a legendary king of Argos in the Greek mythic-historical tradition, best known as the leader of the expedition of the Seven against Thebes and as a figure tied to oracular counsel, dynastic marriages, and local hero cults.

Ajax (Aias)

Ajax (Ancient Greek: Aias) is a human heroic figure of the Trojan-cycle tradition and the tragic protagonist of Sophocles' play Ajax. In the surviving tradition he is a mortal Salaminian warrior celebrated for physical strength and martial reputation whose wounded honor, rage, and resulting suicide are the focus of Sophocles' drama.

Ajax the Great

Ajax the Great (Ancient Greek: Αἴας, Aíās) is a mortal heroic figure of the Trojan War cycle, famed as a towering, steadfast Greek champion and defender of the Achaean ships. Prominent in Homer’s Iliad, he is portrayed as second only to Achilles in martial standing and as a paragon of defensive strength and reliability.

Alcinous

Alcinous (Ancient Greek: Ἀλκίνοος, Alkínoos, "mighty mind") is a legendary human king of the Phaeacians in Greek epic tradition. He is portrayed as an ideal hospitable monarch who receives wandering heroes (notably Odysseus and the Argonauts), presides over feasts and games, adjudicates disputes, and provides ships, gifts, and safe passage. Variant genealogies and island-identifications appear across sources, but his role as a beneficent royal host is consistent.

Alcmeonis

A lost early Greek epic poem (Ancient Greek: Ἀλκμεωνίς / Ἀλκμαιωνίς) traditionally counted among the Theban cycle; known only from a small number of fragmentary references, it narrated the story of Alcmaeon’s killing of his mother Eriphyle in vengeance for the death of his father Amphiaraus.

Amphialus (Amphialos)

Amphialus (Ancient Greek: Άμφίαλος, Amphialus/Amphialos, lit. 'of two seas') is a recurring personal name in classical Greek epic, genealogical tradition, and later pastoral/romance literature. The name is applied to several distinct mortal figures — a Phaeacian athlete in the Odyssey, various seafaring companions and suitors in Homeric summaries, a son of Neoptolemus and Andromache in genealogical accounts, and a noble/warrior character in early modern Arcadian romances — rather than to a single supernatural being.

Amphinomus

Amphinomus (Ἀμφίνομος) is a personal name borne by several human figures in Greek tradition, most notably a princely suitor of Penelope in Homer's Odyssey; other bearers appear in local genealogies, a Catanian civic legend, and a later historical record as a geometer. The sources treat Amphinomus as mortal personages rather than a supernatural being.

Andromache

Andromache (Ancient Greek Ἀνδρομάχη) is a human figure of ancient Greek literary tradition: the wife of Hector of Troy who exemplifies virtuous fidelity, ritual mourning, and the losses suffered by women in war. She appears in Homeric epic and later classical sources as grieving spouse, captive concubine after Troy's fall, and later queen in post-war narratives.

Antimachus of Teos

Antimachus of Teos (Greek: Ἀντίμαχος ὁ Τήϊος) is an early Greco-Ionian epic poet cited in later antiquity as the putative author or ascription-anchor for fragmentary Theban-cycle material (notably sometimes the Epigoni). Later authors quote or reference him for sententiae and as a chronological marker; his identity is contested and sometimes conflated with the much later Antimachus of Colophon.

Antiphus

Antiphus (Ancient Greek Ἄντιφος) is a personal name borne by several mortal men in Greek myth and epic traditions rather than a single supernatural being. Multiple figures named Antiphus appear in genealogies and narratives as princes, warriors, companions of heroes, colonists, and victims in the heroic age (generation of Heracles, the Trojan War, and the Odyssey).

Argos

Argos is the loyal hunting dog of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey, remembered for recognizing his master upon Odysseus's covert return to Ithaca after a twenty-year absence. Presented as a domesticated, neglected animal, Argos functions as a moral and emotional emblem of fidelity and the effects of prolonged absence in the epic.

Community Record

Sources
  1. [1]
    Dolon (Wikipedia). Wikipedia, 'Dolon' entry (accessed via provided research notes).wiki
  2. [2]
    Rhesus 2 (excerpt). Rhesus citation as provided in research notes describing Dolon revealing information when questioned.literary
  3. [3]
    Diomedes 2 (excerpt). Diomedes passage excerpt cited in research notes describing Diomedes cutting off the prisoner's head.literary
  4. [4]
    Dolon in Greek Mythology - Greek Legends and Myths. Secondary summary noting Dolon as a minor Homeric figure and the episode's reception.other
well-documented