A lot of this seems to be about heritability of both wealth and forms of wealth, and personal characteristics. Dolon's dad is a herald, someone who conveys information between unconnected parties, which is what Dolon proposes to do. A herald also brokers deals, as Nestor and Odysseus have just tried to do in book 9 and as Dolon is now trying to do on his own behalf. Dolon's being an only son with 5 sisters implies that femininity is a thing his father passes on.
There's also a counterpoint about wealth between 9 and 10. Agamemnon is clearly rich beyond belief given the payoff he offers Achilles, but the wealth is in well built towns and their associated sheep and cattle, as well as gold and tripods and horses and Lesbian women, whereas Dolon has merely much gold and much bronze. There's a parallel here with old money/new money snobbery in the US and UK. Rich dukes and founding fathers good, nouveaux riches bad.
And thank you for the scholiast on the correlation between wealth and horse breeding. Compare the microphilotimios in Theophrastus Characters 21 who goes to the agora "forgetting" that he is still wearing his spurs.
A lot of this seems to be about heritability of both wealth and forms of wealth, and personal characteristics. Dolon's dad is a herald, someone who conveys information between unconnected parties, which is what Dolon proposes to do. A herald also brokers deals, as Nestor and Odysseus have just tried to do in book 9 and as Dolon is now trying to do on his own behalf. Dolon's being an only son with 5 sisters implies that femininity is a thing his father passes on.
There's also a counterpoint about wealth between 9 and 10. Agamemnon is clearly rich beyond belief given the payoff he offers Achilles, but the wealth is in well built towns and their associated sheep and cattle, as well as gold and tripods and horses and Lesbian women, whereas Dolon has merely much gold and much bronze. There's a parallel here with old money/new money snobbery in the US and UK. Rich dukes and founding fathers good, nouveaux riches bad.
And thank you for the scholiast on the correlation between wealth and horse breeding. Compare the microphilotimios in Theophrastus Characters 21 who goes to the agora "forgetting" that he is still wearing his spurs.