The Horses of Diomedes What they say about the horses of Diomedes is that they were man-eaters: how laughable! Horses much prefer grass and barley to human flesh! The truth is as follows. In the distant past men laboured for themselves and only by working the land did they get food and other such necessities. At some stage someone figured out how to keep horses and he took such pleasure in his horses that he ended up ruining himself by squandering everything he had to feed them. And from these actual events the myth spread.