Meriones

Also known as: squire to Idomeneus / stalwart squire of Idomeneus · Family: Achaeans · Role: warrior · First appears: BOOK V

In Book V, Meriones killed Phereclus. By Book VII he was described as Idomeneus’s brother in arms; Book X identifies Molus as his father and again places him alongside Idomeneus. In Book XIII, Meriones fought Deiphobus and Adamas, and fatally wounded Harpalion with an arrow during the battle at Troy.

In Book XVI, Meriones pursued Acamas, killed Laogonus, and faced Aeneas; he was also addressed by Patroclus as a friend. In Book XVII, his follower and charioteer Coiranus rescued Idomeneus from the Trojans but was killed by Hector. Later, Meriones and Menelaus lifted Patroclus’s body and carried it toward the ships under the protection of Ajax son of Telamon and Ajax son of Oileus. He is also called Idomeneus’s esquire.

In Book XXIII, Idomeneus’s squire was put in charge of bringing wood. Meriones competed with Teucer and Agamemnon: after Teucer cut the pigeon’s tether, Meriones shot it and won the ten double-edged axes, and Achilles’s decision awarded him a bronze spear.

Relationship record

Life events

• Meriones fatally wounds Harpalion with an arrow during the battle.(BOOK XIII · 📍 Troy)
  • With: Harpalion
  • “Meriones aimed a bronze-tipped arrow at him as he was leaving the field, and hit him on the right buttock; the arrow pierced the bone through and through, and penetrated the bladder, so he sat down where he was and breathed his last”
• Hector killed Coiranus, who had rescued Idomeneus, prompting Idomeneus to retreat.(BOOK XVII · 📍 Lyctus)
  • With: Hector Coiranus Idomeneus
  • “Hector then aimed at Idomeneus son of Deucalion as he was standing on his chariot, and very narrowly missed him, but the spear hit Coiranus, a follower and charioteer of Meriones who had come with him from Lyctus. Idomeneus had left the ships on foot and would have afforded a great triumph to the Trojans if Coiranus had not driven quickly up to him, he therefore brought life and rescue to Idomeneus, but himself fell by the hand of murderous Hector. For Hector hit him on the jaw under the ear; the end of the spear drove out his teeth and cut his tongue in two pieces, so that he fell from his chariot and let the reins fall to the ground.”
• Menelaus and Meriones lifted Patroclus’s body and carried it toward the ships under Ajax’s protection.(BOOK XVII · 📍 the ships)
  • With: Menelaus Ajax son of Telamon Ajax son of Oileus Patroclus
  • “On this Menelaus and Meriones took the dead man in their arms and lifted him high aloft with a great effort.”
• Meriones kills the pigeon after Teucer cuts its tether, winning all ten double-edged axes.(BOOK XXIII)
  • With: Teucer Apollo
  • “then espying the pigeon high up under the clouds, he hit her in the middle of the wing as she was circling upwards; the arrow went clean through the wing and fixed itself in the ground at Meriones’ feet, but the bird perched on the ship’s mast hanging her head and with all her feathers drooping; the life went out of her, and she fell heavily from the mast. Meriones, therefore, took all ten double-edged axes, while Teucer bore off the single-edged ones to his ships.”
• Agamemnon accepts Achilles’s decision, receiving the cauldron while Meriones receives the bronze spear.(BOOK XXIII)
  • With: Agamemnon
  • “King Agamemnon assented. So he gave the bronze spear to Meriones, and handed the goodly cauldron to Talthybius his esquire.”

BOOK V

• enemies with Phereclus “Meriones then killed Phereclus the son of Tecton”

BOOK VII

• with Idomeneus (interaction) “Idomeneus, and Meriones his brother in arms.”

BOOK X

• parent: Molus “Amphidamas gave it as a guest-gift to Molus, who gave it to his son Meriones”
• friends with Idomeneus “Meriones brother in arms to Idomeneus, are captains over them.”

BOOK XIII

• friends with Idomeneus “Meriones his sturdy squire met him while he was still near his tent”
• enemies with Deiphobus “Meriones took aim at him with a spear, nor did he fail to hit the broad orb of ox-hide”
• enemies with Adamas “Meriones followed after and hit him with a spear midway between the private parts and the navel”

BOOK XVI

• enemies with Aeneas “Aeneas then aimed a spear at Meriones”
• enemies with Acamas “Meriones gave chase to Acamas on foot and caught him up”
• enemies with Laogonus “Meriones then killed a helmed warrior of the Trojans, Laogonus son of Onetor”
• with Acamas (interaction) “Meriones gave chase to Acamas on foot and caught him up just as he was about to mount his chariot”
• with Laogonus (interaction) “Meriones then killed a helmed warrior of the Trojans, Laogonus son of Onetor”
• friends with Patroclus “Meriones, hero though you be, you should not speak thus; taunting speeches, my good friend”

BOOK XVII

• with Idomeneus (interaction) “Meriones his esquire, peer of murderous Mars”

BOOK XXIII

• employer: Idomeneus “Then King Agamemnon sent men and mules from all parts of the camp, to bring wood, and Meriones, squire to Idomeneus, was in charge over them.”
• rivals with Teucer “Then uprose King Teucer, and Meriones the stalwart squire of Idomeneus rose also”
• rivals with Agamemnon “those that throw the javelin stood up—to wit the son of Atreus, king of men Agamemnon, and Meriones”

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Extracted from the original text of The Iliad. Made with Rho MD.