Which Greek king led the contingent from Crete in the Trojan War?

Idomeneus led the Greek contingent from Crete in the Trojan War. In the Iliad’s Catalogue of Ships, he commands the Cretan forces together with Meriones, his charioteer and close companion, and brings 80 ships to the Achaean expedition.

Idomeneus is presented as a Cretan king and one of the senior Greek commanders. The catalogue associates his force with cities including Knossos, Gortyn, Lyktos, Miletus, Lycastus, Phaestus, and Rhythium, along with the many communities of Crete. His role is therefore broader than that of a local warrior: he represents the island’s military contribution to the pan-Greek campaign.

Meriones is the most likely mix-up because he appears beside Idomeneus in the Cretan entry and fights prominently in the poem. However, Meriones is Idomeneus’ subordinate or war companion, not the king who heads the contingent. Later traditions expand Idomeneus’ story with a storm, a vow to Poseidon, and exile from Crete, but those episodes are outside the central Iliad narrative.