Characters
- Diomedes — kills Rhesus and the Thracians
- Dolon — informant (already captured) who named Rhesus
- Epeius — urges and then limits the slaughter
- People of Crisa — potential avenger if the raid goes too far
- Rhesus — Thracian king; slain asleep by Diomedes
- Telemachus — handles the horses; partner in the raid
Places
- Greek ships — return with the white horses
- Mysia — Rhesus’s homeland (background)
- Trojan camp’s edge — Thracian bivouac
Themes
Narrative
After capturing Dolon, Odysseus and Diomedes learn that Rhesus of Thrace has just arrived with white horses, the finest Dolon has seen, and sleeps at the edge of the Trojan camp. The two Argives kill Thracians in their sleep; Diomedes slays Rhesus himself; Odysseus frees the horses and drives them off. Athena warns Diomedes when further slaughter would risk Apollo’s anger. They return to the Greek ships with the horses as prize. Homeric Rhesus is a one-night victim of the Dolonia, without the tragic play’s fuller Thracian intrigue.
Catalogue this as the *Iliad* 10 Rhesus atom, separate from Euripides’ *Rhesus* and from Dolon’s capture alone.