Some things stood out for me. One is how important sacrifices and studying omens was in their activity. At one point they delay action for an almost disastrously long time because the omens weren't favorable. The recorded speeches emphasize how important it is to be honest, because the gods hated evil oathbreakers. I don't know how much to rely on that professed attitude, since it is all filtered through Xenophon--and also because one of the recurring themes of the book is betrayal. Nobody trusts the Hellenes--and not altogether without reason. They don't entirely trust each other either.
Of course the biggest problem they face is food(*), and having 10,000 hungry soldiers and associated slaves and whatnot show up in your valley is a disaster for the locals. The soldiers won't be happy paying the higher prices that supply and demand considerations require, so either you get shafted financially or physically as they just take the goods. Either way, your valley goes hungry.
And, the Hellenes are mercenaries. Except for a few of the leaders, who hope for a bit of glory or power, they're in it for money, and sooner or later there'd better be some. Or portable valuables, or slaves.
As they get closer to home, the prospect of stopping to found a city gets more attractive to those without a family at home. How would they acquire the women? Slaves, or by having enough money for local doweries?
When such a large army shows up, local militia don't quite suffice, though they have some use in slowing or discouraging too-distant foraging.
They adjust their fighting configuration as they go--Grim explains that well. Major decisions have to be voted on by the soldiers, not just the generals--who can be similarly gotten rid of. I don't mean to disparage Xenophon, but that brought to mind the not entirely dissimilar democracy on pirate ships. (I don't know if privateers, who'd be more like mercenaries, were run along lines similar to pirates.)
Another theme that jumps out at you is just how different the attitudes were compared to modern Western military ideals. If you weren't defending your home turf directly, you wanted loot. I'm not claiming that modern army rules inherit much from the Templar oaths, or their rules (some of those look like what you'd expect if you wanted to maintain discipline in a standing army), but there seem to be similarities.
Read it yourself, and follow along with Grim.
(*) If not for the lack of food along the way, they could have just retraced their steps and avoided almost all the fighting they had to do on the way back.
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