THRASYMEDES (mythical son of Nestor)

At the assembly of the Pylian people's guilds, Thrasymedes gathered around his father when the old man left his rooms.^2,3 Standing by with a sharp axe, he prepared to strike a heifer, cutting the tendons at the base of its neck to kill it for sacrifice.^4,5 Later, he took his father's shield, which gleamed with bronze, and joined the group of warriors who agreed to follow the counsel given.^6,7

Thrasymedes participated in the military expedition to Troy, where he commanded the sentinels who went out in their armour.^8,9 He and his group took positions between the trench and the wall, lighting fires and eating supper after settling in.⁹ When Diomedes had left his own arms at his ship, Thrasymedes provided him with a sword and shield, and he also gave the son of Tydeus a bull's hide helmet.¹⁰

In battle, Thrasymedes struck Maris in the shoulder with a spear that severed the muscles at the root of his arm, killing him.¹¹ Together with Antilochus, he killed two noble comrades of Sarpedon, and later slew Meneclus while the latter was charging at the Danaans.^12,11 Although he had previously fled to the ships to escape Eurypylus, he rallied against the enemy out of fear for the Atreid kings and helped defend them from their attackers.¹³ Menelaus dispatched him to aid the Pylians after Antilochus departed, and he ran to the two Ajaxes to report that Antilochus had gone to Achilles.¹⁴

Nestor ordered Thrasymedes to be kept in reserve during the fight, but later sent him from the ships into battle.¹⁵ Mistakenly believing Patroclus was still alive and leading the attack, Thrasymedes held back from the main battle to support his comrades.¹⁵ His father cried out to him to help defend his brother's body, which was being attacked, yet Thrasymedes was slain by black death.¹ Nestor saw him die, and a tomb located a short distance from Pylos is claimed to be his burial site.^1,16