This article addresses the problem of formation and evolution of Diomedes' image in Greek mythology. An analysis of ancient tradition and archaeological sources shows that the images of Diomedes of Thrace and Diomedes of Argos, the hero of the Trojan War, had a common root. The author comes to conclusion that the Thracian king and the Argive hero are different variants of the development of the cult figure, which was once associated with the northeast of the Balkan peninsula and the horse cult, and the myth of Heracles’s campaign in Thrace reflects the Greek colonization of the Thracian coast.
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