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say that there was no man like him. He came once to Mycenae, not as
an enemy but as a guest, in company with Polynices to recruit his
forces, for they were levying war against the strong city of Thebes,
and prayed our people for a body of picked men to help them. The men
of Mycenae were willing to let them have one, but Jove dissuaded them
by showing them unfavourable omens. Tydeus, therefore, and Polynices
went their way. When they had got as far the deep-­‐meadowed and rush-­‐grown
banks of the Aesopus, the Achaeans sent Tydeus as their envoy, and
he found the Cadmeans gathered in great numbers to a banquet in the
house of Eteocles. Stranger though he was, he knew no fear on finding
himself single-­‐handed among so many, but challenged them to contests
of all kinds, and in each one of them was at once victorious, so mightily
did Minerva help him. The Cadmeans were incensed at his success, and
set a force of fifty youths with two captains-­‐ the godlike hero Maeon,
son of Haemon, and Polyphontes, son of Autophonus-­‐ at their head,
to lie in wait for him on his return journey; but Tydeus slew every
man of them, save only Maeon, whom he let go in obedience to heaven's
omens. Such was Tydeus of Aetolia. His son can talk more glibly, but
he cannot fight as his father did."
Diomed made no answer, for he was shamed by the rebuke of Agamemnon;
but the son of Capaneus took up his words and said, "Son of Atreus,
tell no lies, for you can speak truth if you will. We boast ourselves
as even better men than our fathers; we took seven-­‐gated Thebes, though
the wall was stronger and our men were fewer in number, for we trusted
in the omens of the gods and in the help of Jove, whereas they perished
through their own sheer folly; hold not, then, our fathers in like
honour with us."