As noted in the comment on I.12.130, Leonteus is the only Iliadic figure who is called ‘equal to Ares’ besides Hector, Patroklos, and Achilles (see also BA 33). Relevant is the fact that he qualifies here at I.12.188 as ozos Arēos ‘attendant of Ares’, also at I.02.745, I.23.841. The word ozos in this description, which applies also to other heroes as listed above, can be explained etymologically as *(h)o-sd-os, meaning ‘seated together with’: so a hero who qualifies as ozos Arēos ‘attendant of Ares’ can be pictured as literally ‘seated together with Ares’ (BA 295 = ch.17§5n8). The application of this epithet to a hero indicates that such a hero, as a warrior, is destined to become a ritual substitute for the war-god Ares, in the sense that generic warriors are described as therapontes Arēos ‘attendants of Ares’ in the Iliad. See the comment on I.06.067.