An alliance, not an army
The Achaean force is a coalition of kings who have sworn to defend the marriage of Helen. Each brings his own ships and men: Agamemnon from Mycenae, Menelaus from Sparta, Diomedes from Argos, Ajax from Salamis, Odysseus from Ithaca, Nestor from Pylos, and many others. The Catalogue of Ships in Iliad II lists them by region and contingent.
The coalition has no permanent command structure. Agamemnon is the acknowledged leader, but he must persuade and sometimes yield to the other kings. The quarrel with Achilles in Book I shows how fragile the arrangement is: a dispute over honour can paralyse the whole army.
The war and the returns
The Achaeans fight for ten years, build a wall and ditch around their camp, and finally take Troy by the ruse of the wooden horse. The Iliad covers only a few weeks of the tenth year and ends before the city falls.
After the victory the coalition dissolves, and the returns are as dangerous as the war. The Odyssey is largely about the consequences: Odysseus wanders for ten years, Agamemnon is murdered at home, Ajax is destroyed by his own anger, and Nestor and Menelaus reach home after long delays. The Achaean victory is real, but it does not produce a stable peace.
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The following entries mention “The Achaeans”.