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Dolon

Literary Character
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A Trojan scout in Homer’s Iliad who volunteered to spy on the Greeks but was captured and executed by Diomedes and Odysseus.

Detailed Definition
Dolon volunteers for a night mission in exchange for Achilles’ horses but is captured and slain, illustrating the brutality of war and the futility of greed. In poetry, he symbolizes betrayal, vulnerability, and the tragic irony of misplaced hope, often referenced in nocturnal or espionage-themed verses.
Example
Example in poetry:
Dolon in Homer’s "Iliad" is a minor spy whose cowardice is rendered through simile and dialogue; Virgil’s "Aeneid" echoes Dolon’s night mission in Nisus and Euryalus’ episode; Later poets use Dolon as shorthand for treacherous or doomed missions; His name becomes a poetic symbol of failed cunning in war narratives.
Additional Notes
Dolon, a Trojan spy in the "Iliad," is depicted as cowardly and greedy; his brief but vivid characterization serves as a foil to Greek heroism, demonstrating how minor characters can reinforce thematic binaries (courage/cowardice, honor/greed) in epic narrative.
Also Known As
Dolon the Trojan
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