I agree with this to some extent, but I think I was one of the loudest supporters of the point that third age elves were inferior when compared to "First Agers".

It has already been said before that Elrond never really proved that he was great in arms, or in military tactics. We are given no evidence (sorry, direct evidence) that Elrond was a great war leader, or that he could defeat X number of orcs in combat. Okai, that's not conclusive evidence that he WASN"T great, however, you'd think that in the thousands of years that he was alive, he would have done something that the bards can sing about! Even a good tactical decision at one stage or something...

I agree that he was one of the wisest, BUT, remember that he had lived long enough to learn humility, and patience, etc. Most of the First Age elves were pretty hot blooded.

As with any debate, this may come down to the semantics of "What do you define as greatness". Personally, I don't think it's all feat in arms, etc, BUT, that does come into it. Was Elrond shown to have great skill and subtlety of hand? Not really. Was he a fighter? Not as far as I know. Was he a reknown military leader? Well... this can be argued for quite a while. In fact, thinking about it, I think that to be great, he would have to shine in one of his fields. The only thing that Elrond is REALLY known for, is his wisdom. (I'm not saying he's definitely not great in the other areas, but there is little evidence to back it up) As I said before, Elrond's wisdom was almost default, because he got to live so long, through so much strife. It wasn't something that was purely innate, and born with. it was something that a leader learns, when he has to live through so many defeats, and so many sorrows.

That's my two cents
=)

Gandalf