The Iliad discussion

I just realised Nestor is a king, so now I'm even more confused about how the greek army works.

>>9361484
http://pages.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/arch/iliad/IliadGuide01.html
That is some pretty important background, definitely read it.
Back then Greece wasn't one country like we think about it now, which is why there are multiple kings.
Achilles, and Odysseus, and the like have their own troops, but Agamemnon is the commander of the entire collective army.
Achaeans, Danaans, and Argives all refer to the Greek army as a whole.

>>9361526
not OP, but thanks for linking this. I'm starting the illiad soon and it seems that this will be very nice to have

>>9361526
Thanks for the link. It is really well-written and entertaining too.

>>9361484
>My question is, how are the Greeks uniting to fight against Troy?
To plunder a splendid city, or at least that was the original plan.

>Do various kings in Greece just unite together under him as their leader?
It's a military coalition, it needs somebody to give the orders, which would usually have you think of an old, experienced guy who is still in a good shape commanding a greater political power. Agamemnon is that man but he is not perfect, after all, nobody in Greek literature is, not even the gods.

>Are there ranks, such as Odysseus, or Achilles being of higher rank than someone such as Nestor since they are kings?
One city is a state that has one or more kings and one army. Homer's poems are set in a pre-polis era where a military aristocracy is in every city.

A king has troops of his own that he can distribute to his sons, as well as vassals that act as military commanders and advisors.

>someone dies in battle
>greeks swarm to steal his armour and horses often dying in the process instead of continuing fighting

why does everyone say to start with the greeks when they were clearly retarded?

>>9362388
Every Iliad thread there has to be this, or another one of a series of such inane remarks. How do you cretins even manage to find this board? Is 4chan that popular among American teenagers?

what should one read after the iliad, the oddysey and aeniad?

>>9362597
Your comment is even more inane than his.

>>9362608
You read the Iliad again