In the Iliad

Iliad

The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...

of Homer

Homer

In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...

, Agastrophus (Ἀγάστροφος) is a Paionian "hero", "famed for his spear", fighting on the side of Troy

Troy

Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...

 in the Trojan War

Trojan War

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...

, killed by Diomedes

Diomedes

Diomedes or Diomed is a hero in Greek mythology, known for his participation in the Trojan War.He was born to Tydeus and Deipyle and later became King of Argos, succeeding his maternal grandfather, Adrastus. In Homer's Iliad Diomedes is regarded alongside Ajax as one of the best warriors of all...

. He was the son of Paeon

Paeon (father of Agastrophus)

Paeon or Paion in Greek mythology was a Paionian mentioned in the Iliad of Homer as the father of the warrior Agastrophus, slain by Diomedes, while fighting on the side of Troy in the Trojan War...

 and brother of Laophoon

Laophoon

Laophoon is mentioned in Quintus Smyrnaeus' Posthomerica, his epic poem, telling the story of the Trojan War, from the death of Hector to the fall of Troy. He is a Paeonian warrior, the son of Paeon and Cleomede and the companion of Asteropaios, fighting for the Trojan side...

. His death comes about as the result of a lapse in judgement. Under the influence of Ate

Ate

Atë or Aite a Greek word for "ruin, folly, delusion", is the action performed by the hero, usually because of hubris, that leads to his or her death or downfall. There is also a goddess by that name in Greek mythology, a personification of the same.In Homer's Iliad she is called eldest daughter...

, a kind of judgemental blindness, Agastrophus made the fatal mistake of leaving his chariot too far behind him, thus being unable to escape when he was wounded by Diomedes. After killing him Diomedes strips the "gleaming corselet of valiant Agastrophus from about his breast, and the shield from off his shoulder, and his heavy helm".