[407] ἀγαγόνθ᾽, dual, as he is thinking only of Diomedes and himself. ἄρειον is taken by the Schol. as comparative, viz. “τοῦ ἐν Τροίαι”; for the sake of the antithesis it should rather mean ‘a stronger wall than our fathers found,’ as though Thebes had been strengthened in the interval. Cf. 15.736, ‘a stronger wall’ than that which is now being taken. There is no Homeric instance of “ἄρειος” for the regular “Ἀρήϊος”, and in any case that would weaken the point of the line. Ar. obelized 407-9 on the ground that if the fathers were defeated by their own madness and the sons conquered only by obeying the gods, there is no ground for concluding that the sons are better warriors than the fathers were. It is an obvious reply that the best warrior is the one who takes every step to ensure victory, and that the first step is to win divine support.
