Stealing the Mares of Diomedes

In Thrace, the steeds of King Diomedes were not mere horses but ravenous beasts fed on human flesh. King Eurystheus ordered Heracles to capture these man-eating mares, a task that would test his resourcefulness and bravery.

Heracles devised a cunning plan. He overpowered the stable guards, allowing the mares to run free. As they galloped through the fields, hunger gnawed at their bellies, their wild instincts driving them to devour their pursuers.

Returning to the stable, Heracles confronted King Diomedes himself, engaging in a fierce battle that ended with the king becoming the meal for his own horses. Heracles swiftly tamed the mares, breaking their savagery and binding them to his will.

With the man-eating mares under his control, Heracles journeyed back to King Eurystheus, having completed yet another seemingly impossible feat.