Storytellers have been fascinated with the subject of authority since the birth of Western literature. The model of authority that prevailed in Homer's great epic the Iliad, written in the eighth century BC, is one where the authority of the king was ‘anchored in the authoritative decree of the king of Gods’, Zeus, who ‘commissions an earthly king to share his sovereign rule’. A king represented his rule as authorised by divine forces. The exercise of royal leadership required creativity and intelligence: it was not sufficient to be commissioned for the role of king by a divine power; the king had to demonstrate that his leadership could benefit the community and win favour with the gods. Consequently the king could increase or decrease his personal authority through the quality of his leadership.

The dominant influence of the aristocratic-warrior code ensured that acts of courage and prowess on the battlefield formed the foundation of individual authority. When the Greek hero Achilles derides Agamemnon's record as a warrior, he reminds the assembled gathering of prominent warriors that their leader did not earn his authority through a display of courage: ‘never once have you taken courage in your heart to arm with your people for battle’. Agamemnon's position of kingly authority rests on his wealth and command over a large body of warriors, but his behaviour indicates that he lacks valour and rhetorical skills, the qualities that the Greeks associated with authoritative leadership. From this point onwards we all know that the angry exchange of insults between these two men will not be the last time that Agamemnon's authority will be contested.