The problems of alliances were front and center in the Iliad. Dolon had put his tribe/clan first as many would've expected of the time.
"Of course, you protect your family over some clan that 'claims' to be allies with the Trojans. We don't trust them. We never have. They'll turn on Troy, and us, the first chance they get."
The Greeks had their own tribal clashes that mirrored the clash of their 'kings.' All of those men fighting for status in the alliance, daring great deeds and bringing back treasure to showcase their status as warriors and leaders.
Yes, this makes sense. Rhesos was a Thracian ally of Troy, not a Trojan like Dolon. And Dolon is the only son of his father -- this means his death could potentially mean the death of his clan. In the Aeneid, Virgil tells us that Dolon had a son before he was killed, but we aren't told that in the Iliad itself.
I took some time to ruminate on the question you posed to The Brothers Krynn and I after first reading it through yesterday. Then, before adding it to this weeks Sword & Saturday list, I read it again and gave your question further thought.
Dolon's position provides some interesting considerations. On the one hand, it's very easy to say that freely giving the information about that Trojan position is downright traitorous to them, and thus he shouldn't be considered a hero at all. Leaving it at that would be very simple and I'm sure many would be satisfied to do so. However, you mentioning that neither the Iliad nor the Aeneid seem to portray him as dishonorable has me thinking about other possibilities.
Firstly, given that these are Greek poems, it's possible that there's a little home team bias at play here. Dolon's actions ultimately would've served Agamemnon. Ergo, it served the Greek position in this conflict, which could result in him being painted as honorable. Personally, I think this is also a bit too simplistic. While it's been a very long time since I read excerpts from these works - this thought piece is a great reminder for me to add them to my eternally growing list of "stuff I need to (re)read" - part of me can't help but wonder, based on what you've shown us here, if both Homer and Vergil approached Dolon with intentional neutrality.
I fully admit this could just be me projecting my personal biases onto this, or that I'm overthinking the situation, but it strikes me as interesting that the way Dolon is described simultaneously paints him as explicitly ill-favored and stuck in the unenviable position of being the only son in a family stuffed full of daughters, while also showcasing his achievements and the decent status of the family he comes from. To me, this decision to highlight the shortcomings of Dolon and his lineage, while also lauding their accomplishments, comes off as an intentional effort to paint him in a very neutral light. Which is to say, it's almost as if Homer and Vergil are begging the same questions of Dolon that you do, here.
Again, I could be making wild assumptions here, it's been a long while since I've read any Greek literature. Still, I found this line of thinking interesting, so I figured I may as well follow it to what conclusions I could find.
The problems of alliances were front and center in the Iliad. Dolon had put his tribe/clan first as many would've expected of the time.
"Of course, you protect your family over some clan that 'claims' to be allies with the Trojans. We don't trust them. We never have. They'll turn on Troy, and us, the first chance they get."
The Greeks had their own tribal clashes that mirrored the clash of their 'kings.' All of those men fighting for status in the alliance, daring great deeds and bringing back treasure to showcase their status as warriors and leaders.
Yes, this makes sense. Rhesos was a Thracian ally of Troy, not a Trojan like Dolon. And Dolon is the only son of his father -- this means his death could potentially mean the death of his clan. In the Aeneid, Virgil tells us that Dolon had a son before he was killed, but we aren't told that in the Iliad itself.
I took some time to ruminate on the question you posed to The Brothers Krynn and I after first reading it through yesterday. Then, before adding it to this weeks Sword & Saturday list, I read it again and gave your question further thought.
Dolon's position provides some interesting considerations. On the one hand, it's very easy to say that freely giving the information about that Trojan position is downright traitorous to them, and thus he shouldn't be considered a hero at all. Leaving it at that would be very simple and I'm sure many would be satisfied to do so. However, you mentioning that neither the Iliad nor the Aeneid seem to portray him as dishonorable has me thinking about other possibilities.
Firstly, given that these are Greek poems, it's possible that there's a little home team bias at play here. Dolon's actions ultimately would've served Agamemnon. Ergo, it served the Greek position in this conflict, which could result in him being painted as honorable. Personally, I think this is also a bit too simplistic. While it's been a very long time since I read excerpts from these works - this thought piece is a great reminder for me to add them to my eternally growing list of "stuff I need to (re)read" - part of me can't help but wonder, based on what you've shown us here, if both Homer and Vergil approached Dolon with intentional neutrality.
I fully admit this could just be me projecting my personal biases onto this, or that I'm overthinking the situation, but it strikes me as interesting that the way Dolon is described simultaneously paints him as explicitly ill-favored and stuck in the unenviable position of being the only son in a family stuffed full of daughters, while also showcasing his achievements and the decent status of the family he comes from. To me, this decision to highlight the shortcomings of Dolon and his lineage, while also lauding their accomplishments, comes off as an intentional effort to paint him in a very neutral light. Which is to say, it's almost as if Homer and Vergil are begging the same questions of Dolon that you do, here.
Again, I could be making wild assumptions here, it's been a long while since I've read any Greek literature. Still, I found this line of thinking interesting, so I figured I may as well follow it to what conclusions I could find.