Idomeneus

Also known as: captain of the Cretans · Family: Achaeans · Role: chief · First appears: BOOK I

🌐 Also appears in: Greek Mythology — A Family Orrery (as Idomeneus) · The Odyssey (as Idomeneus)

In Book I, Idomeneus, captain of the Cretans, is named by Agamemnon as a possible chief to command the Achaeans. In Book III, Menelaus is said to have often welcomed him as a guest at his house when he visited from Crete. By Book IV, Idomeneus calls Agamemnon a trusted comrade, as he had promised from the beginning, and Agamemnon says he treats him with greater distinction than other Achaeans. In Book VII, Idomeneus and Meriones are described as brothers in arms; in Book X, they are captains over their men. In Book XI, Idomeneus urges Nestor to take his chariot and carry Machaon.

In Book XII, Idomeneus kills Asius with a spear before he can return to Ilius; the material again records him striking Asius in the throat in Book XIII. He also kills Othryoneus with a spear through the belly, and Neptune enables him to kill Alcathous. In Book XIII, Idomeneus taunts Deiphobus over their respective kills and clashes with Aeneas. In Book XVI, he spears Erymas in the mouth. In Book XVII, Coiranus, who had come with Meriones from Lyctus, rescues Idomeneus from the Trojans but is killed by Hector, and Idomeneus retreats. In Book XXIII, Meriones serves as Idomeneus’s squire and is put in charge of bringing wood; Idomeneus is also a rival of Ajax son of Oileus.