Xenophon

The Greek historian, essayist, and military expert Xenophon (ca. 430-ca. 355 B.C.) was the most popular of the Greek historians. He facilitated the change from the Thucydidean tradition of history to rhetoric.

The son of Gryllus of the Athenian deme of Erchia Xenophon was of aristocratic background and means. He studied under Socrates. Married to Philesia, he had two sons, both of whom were educated in Sparta. In 401, despite a warning from Socrates and consultation with the oracle at Delphi, he became involved in the expedition of Cyrus against Artaxerxes at the invitation of Proxenus of Thebes. Xenophon was initially unaware of Cyrus's true purpose, which was to gain the crown of Persia. After Cyrus was killed at the battle of Cunaxa in Babylonia, his troops dispersed; Clearchus and other Greek commanders were treacherously murdered by the Persian satrap Tissaphernes, and Xenophon was elected general.

The Spartan general Chirisophus and Xenophon took command of the retreat of the Ten Thousand, the Greek force trapped in the center of the Persian Empire. The generals led the Ten Thousand along the Tigris, across Armenia to Trapezus (modern Trabzon) on the Black Sea, to Chrysopolis (modern Ü sküdar) on the Bosporus in 399-an incredible journey of some 1,500 miles. This "March Up Country" is the subject of Xenophon's Anabasis.

Some of Xenophon's troops joined Seuthes, King of Thrace. In the spring of 399 others joined the Lacedaemonian Thibron, who warred against Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus. We have no knowledge of Xenophon's activities in the years immediately thereafter. Three years later Xenophon joined the Spartan king Agesilaus in the continuing battle against Persia. A warm and intimate friendship grew up between the two men, and the eulogistic sketch Agesilaus is a permanent record of this friendship. When Agesilaus was recalled in 394, Xenophon accompanied him and was present at the battle against the Athenians at Coronea. He was then banished from Athens. There is some dispute as to whether his participation in the expedition of Cyrus against the Persian king, his close association with the Spartans, or his presence at the battle of Coronea with Athens's enemy was the reason.

Agesilaus gave Xenophon an estate at Scillus near Olympia in Elis, and he lived there happily, writing prolifically, until the Spartans were defeated at the battle of Leuctra in 371, when the Eleans expelled him. Xenophon is reported to have removed himself to Corinth, where he may have ended his days. Though the decree of banishment against him was revoked, probably in 369 (presumably because his "Laconism" was acceptable when Athens and Sparta were allies), Xenophon never returned to Athens. The exact date of his death is uncertain; tradition and a reference in the Hellenica (IV, 4, 35ff) to the assassination of Alexander of Pherae would seem to point to a time after 357 B.C., probably in 355. Apparently all his works have survived, and they may be arbitrarily grouped into three general categories.

Historical Works

The Anabasis ("March Up Country"), perhaps Xenophon's most famous and most exciting work, in seven books, was originally published under the pen name Themistogenes of Syracuse. It is a history of the expedition of the Greek mercenaries of the younger Cyrus through the Persian Empire. The Hellenica, in seven books, is a continuation of the history of Thucydides, from the Peloponnesian War to the Theban supremacy, and employs the annalistic method and exhibits a pro-Spartan bias. The period covered stretches from the end of Thucydides (411 B.C.) to the Battle of Mantinea (362 B.C.). There is some question about the division and completeness of the work. The encomium to Agesilaus may have been composed shortly after the Spartan king's death in 360. Written in the style of the rhetorician Gorgias, it is not carefully constructed.

Technical and Didactic Works

The Hipparchus, which is in two parts—one on memoranda and another on proposals for implementations—is a tract on the duties of a cavalry commander, addressed to one who is about to assume that position. The Cynegeticus is a curious medley on hunting, an enumeration of the pupils of Chiron, praise of the hunt, and an attack on the Sophists. On Equitation, the oldest treatise on the subject, is authoritatively done and well written.

Philosophical Works

Xenophon's philosophical writings fall into two subdivisions. The first, subject-or theme-oriented (political science, education, economics), includes The Lacedaemonian Constitution, an unequal and careless account of Spartan political institutions, adulatory in tone, assigning their origin to Lycurgus, with whom Xenophon identifies his own ideas; and the Cyropaedia, in eight books, described as a political romance. Using the history of the elder Cyrus, the founder of the Persian monarchy, Xenophon presents the reader with a dull, monotonous, repetitious handbook of ideal kingly behavior with Cyrus as the model. Considered Xenophon's most polished work, the Cyropaedia clearly demonstrates his dislike of democratic constitutions and his preference for a Spartanlike constitution, with practical advice for military commanders, lively descriptions of battle, and suggestions for the education of good citizens. The treatise On Revenues (On Finance) contains advice for the amelioration of the Athenian public treasury and also an argument for peace.

The second philosophical subdivision is much more concerned with individuals and their ethical behavior, particularly with Socrates. The most famous of this group is undoubtedly The Memorabilia of Socrates, in four books. Reflecting his own practical mind, Xenophon here strives to defend his teacher against the charges of impiety and corruption of youth; he proceeds through a series of conversations to illustrate Socrates's moral teachings. It is a limited picture of one side of the great philosopher, and a work whose historicity, construction, depth, credibility, and value have been subject to debate. The Apology of Socrates is a brief speech written to justify Socrates's weak defense of himself, and it claims to have recorded material from Hermogenes. Parts of it are found also in Plato. The Symposium is also useful for reconstructing the picture of Socrates. Its setting is the house of the rich Athenian Callias during a celebration of the victory of Autolycus at the Great Panathenaia in 422 B.C. The nature of love and friendship is the philosophical subject, and it is discussed with lightness and pleasantness, though Socrates's speech to Callias is pointedly serious. Plato may have written his Symposium as a corrective to Xenophon's. The Hieron, a dialogue between king Hiero of Syracuse and Simonides of Ceos, who paid a visit to Syracuse in 476, contrasts the lot of the ruler with that of a private person. Which of them is happier is argued out in a way that must have been of particular interest to the Socratics. The Oeconomicusis considered a charming work that reflects Xenophon's life at Scillus, though it is a dialogue between Socrates and Critobulus on estate management and records a discussion on the subject between Socrates and Ischomachus.

Although Xenophon's works were admired in antiquity, he is not an author of high critical ability or of outstanding intellectual or moral caliber. His style was simple and straightforward. A man of action as well as a man of letters, he was a nonprofessional in many subjects but a master of military science. More a popularizer and adapter of other people's works, he was not creative, profound, or even original. Nevertheless, he was a meticulous observer and a fair assessor of character, and his sympathies were broad and real.

Further Reading

There have been numerous translations of Xenophon's works, but no recent books of a general nature on Xenophon. G. B. Nussbaum, The Ten Thousand: A Study in Social Organization and Action in Xenophon's Anabasis (1967), is a useful study. Xenophon and his works are also discussed in Michael Grant, The Ancient Historians (1970), and Stephen Usher, The Historians of Greece and Rome (1970). □

Xenophon

431?-354? b.c.

Greek Soldier and Historian

Xenophon is best known for writing the Anabasis. It recounts the details of Cyrus the Younger's (423?-401 b.c.) Persian campaign and the role Xenophon played in leading his Greek mercenaries back to the Mediterranean after Cyrus's death. Xenophon wrote on a wide range of topics, and his prose was greatly admired in antiquity and strongly influenced Latin literature.

Born around 431 b.c. to the wealthy Athenian aristocrat Gryllus, Xenophon came of age during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 b.c.). He joined the intellectual circle that gathered about Socrates (470?-399 b.c.) and sympathized with their critical attitude towards Athenian democracy. He supported the short-lived oligarchic regimes of the Council of 400 (411 b.c.) and the Thirty Tyrants (404-403 b.c.). When Thracybulus reestablished democracy in Athens, Xenophon became disillusioned and chose to seek his destiny elsewhere.

In 401 b.c. Xenophon joined the Greek mercenaries of prince Cyrus at Sardis, in Lydia. Cyrus's pretext for assembling this force was to rid his satrapy of the Pisidian hillmen. He marched inland with a mixed force that included 14,000 Greeks. As the army headed into Syria, the Greeks realized Cyrus's true goal was to overthrow his brother Artaxerxes II, king of Persia. Promise of rich rewards convinced the Greeks to follow Cyrus down the Euphrates towards Babylon.

The opposing armies met at Cunaxa in early September. The lightly armed troops of the Persian Empire proved no match for the Greek hoplites. However, with victory in his grasp, Cyrus was slain and his Asian mercenaries fled the field in disarray. The Greeks remained undefeated and refused to surrender. During negotiations, their generals were treacherously murdered, leaving them leaderless. Xenophon was among the new commanders immediately elected. He played an important role as the "Ten Thousand," as they were later known, fought their way northward through Kurdistan and Armenia to the Greek port of Trapezus on the Black Sea. Their five-month, 1,500-mi (2,414-km) trek revealed the essential internal weakness of the Persian Empire.

Xenophon continued leading the Ten Thousand. They fought in Bulgaria for the Thracian prince Seuthes before returning to Asia Minor in 399 b.c. with a force of Spartans. There, they defended the Ionian cities against renewed Persian aggression. It was during this time that Xenophon met the Spartan king Agesilaus II (444?-360 b.c.), whom he admired greatly. He returned to Sparta with Agesilaus and served on his staff. He was present at the Battle of Coronea (394 b.c.) when the Spartan king defeated a coalition of Greek cities that included Athens. Shortly thereafter, Xenophon was banished from Athens as a traitor.

In gratitude for his services, Sparta rewarded Xenophon with an estate at Scillus, near Olympia. He married, had two sons, and devoted his leisure time to hunting, entertaining friends, and writing. After Thebes defeated Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra (371 b.c.), Xenophon sought refuge in Corinth. When his banishment was revoked (365? b.c.), he may have returned to Athens. In any case, both his sons were educated there, and the oldest died at Mantinea (362 b.c.) fighting for Athens.

Aside from Anabasis, Xenophon's most important work was Hellenica, which was intended as a continuation of Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War, covering the period from 411 to 363 b.c. He wrote various Socratic dialogues and compiled his recollections of Socrates in Memorabilia. His other works include Cyropaedia, a hagiography of Cyrus the Great; Peri hippikes and Hipparchicus, manuals on horsemanship and cavalry tactics; Cynegeticus, a treatise on hunting; and Agesilaos, an encomium of Agesilaus. Peri poron, a pamphlet dealing with Athen's financial difficulties, was written shortly before his death around 355 b.c.

STEPHEN D. NORTON

Xenophon (c.430–354 bc) Greek historian. Xenophon studied with Socrates, whose teaching he described in Memorabilia. His best-known work is Anabasis, an account of his march with a Greek mercenary army across Asia Minor in 401–399 bc in support of a pretender to the Persian throne. Other works include a history of Greece from 411 to 362 bc.

http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/x/xenophon.htm

Xenophon (c.435–c.354 bc), Greek historian, writer, and military leader. From 401 he fought with Cyrus the Younger against Artaxerxes II, and led an army of 10,000 Greek mercenaries in their retreat of about 1,500 km (900 miles) after Cyrus was killed; the campaign and retreat are recorded in the Anabasis. Other notable writings include the Hellenica, a history of Greece.