There's some commentary in Wilson's notes on the Iliad about some of this (and I think a little in the notes on the Odyssey). A lot of the Greek fighting was lots of small battles, one on one, with people defending specific things (the ships on the beach) and the Big Names fighting notably.
(which, honestly, continues as a battle tactic for a very long time. One of the things that caught me about reading about the Battle of Hastings, which I was doing about the same point I was reading the battle sequences in the Iliad last November/December was how similar some of the 'what was going on here' descriptions sound.)
But there's also some dynamics stuff about how some of the men with Odysseus are relatives (by marriage in various ways) and sort of grudgingly there, and as it takes longer and longer to get home, and as the things that happen are less and less sensible, they're more and more inclined to try and do things their own way. And, in some cases, to undermine Odysseus's authority in various ways.
Like, Odysseus says, "Don't go do X, here's why" (about opening the bag of winds, about the Sun God's cattle) and then he goes to sleep after being awake for days and they do it anyway.
I think the answer here is he may have needed a different second in command.
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Date: 2025-03-30 12:11 am (UTC)(which, honestly, continues as a battle tactic for a very long time. One of the things that caught me about reading about the Battle of Hastings, which I was doing about the same point I was reading the battle sequences in the Iliad last November/December was how similar some of the 'what was going on here' descriptions sound.)
But there's also some dynamics stuff about how some of the men with Odysseus are relatives (by marriage in various ways) and sort of grudgingly there, and as it takes longer and longer to get home, and as the things that happen are less and less sensible, they're more and more inclined to try and do things their own way. And, in some cases, to undermine Odysseus's authority in various ways.
Like, Odysseus says, "Don't go do X, here's why" (about opening the bag of winds, about the Sun God's cattle) and then he goes to sleep after being awake for days and they do it anyway.
I think the answer here is he may have needed a different second in command.