O banho de Diomedes e Odisseu no fim do canto X da Ilíada (572-577)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to comment carefully on the scene of Diomedes and Odysseus’ bath at the end of Iliad’s Book X (572-577). Such a scene is somehow atypical, even though it basically conforms to the pattern of Odyssey’s bathing “type-scenes”. Besides that point, this scene is located in a book that is also atypical in the Iliad because it describes these two Achaeans’ nocturnal mission of spying on the Trojan camp. The atypicality of this episode is due to the fact that it portrays the only mortal heroes’ bathing scene that happens in the Iliad. Therefore, this article tries to contrast the aforementioned scene with the brief scene of god Ares’ bath and with other mortal heroes’ bathing scenes which were only suggested, yet did not happen in this poem.