Xenophon: Anabasis (Loeb Classical Library) (English and Greek Edition) by Xenophon

by Xenophon

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Ancient

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1702

About the author

Xenophon (Ancient Greek Ξενοφῶν, Modern Greek Ξενοφώντας; ca. 431 – 355 BC), son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, was a soldier, mercenary and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates. He is known for his writings on the history of his own times, preserving the sayings of Socrates, and the life of ancient Greece.

Historical and biographical works:
Anabasis (or The Persian Expedition)
Cyropaedia
Hellenica
Agesilaus

Socratic works and dialogues:
Memorabilia
Oeconomicus
Symposium
Apology
Hiero

Short treatises:
On Horsemanship
The Cavalry General
Hunting with Dogs
Ways and Means
Constitution of Sparta

Reviews

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xenophon really liked writing about himself in third person. Fun book detailing the exploits of a 10,000 strong army stranded in the middle of the persian empire after their benefactor's attempted coup goes wrong. I assume Xenophon exaggerated his own contributions (did he really spit out 10 page long speeches off the cuff?) but an entertaining read and it shows what was and wasn't accepted in society back then.

[Alistair Antonopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introductory text for learning ancient Greek. Xenophon writes in very clear and comprehensible language that is perfect for learners.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If only there was an essay on the presentation of Spartan characters in this...

[MacQuaid Hiller]

Ideal day:

Get hired as mercs

March 50 miles in one day

Destroy your boss's enemies

He doesn't pay you

Pillage all of his towns and enslave his people

Repeat until home

[Istvan Zoltan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A splendid adventure, interesting historical details, some very practical political points. All this written in clear, engaging, dynamic prose. What an achievement. Can't wait to read it again with my boys when they come of age.

One of the interesting aspects of the work is how normal and natural it treats fighting and taking from the weaker. When one is reading Nietzsche, he often alludes to the ideals of virtue in ancient Greece before-Aristotle and the Stoics became influential. The lust for power, the appetite for battle, conquest, taking, ruling – which is not the same at all as being a tyrant, or corrupt, or murderous for the sake of being violent and dominant – are all praised.
Xenophon’s view of how the world works is very much in tune with this. There is great appreciation for good management and leadership skills, of courage, desire for power and ambition, clever pans to win risky rewards. Xenophon retells many cases of other leaders, soldiers or himself solving tricky situations – of politics, or tensions threatening revolt in the army – by good speeches, manoeuvring and responsible leadership taking care of the soldiers’ wellbeing. Xenophon in fact gets into trouble for being a friend of the soldiers, rather than of the other generals and local leaders.
Thus we have a picture of the classical strong and capable leader who is not afraid to forge their own way, navigating around greed, conformity, careerism successfully, without throwing their life away. A fascinating adventure, despite its cruelty: it makes us face some of the monstrosities of power games that exist today but are masked as humanitarian interventions, peacekeeping, protecting constitutions and so on. There is as much barbarity today as at any other time in history, but we are less honest about it and the people who try to dominate others are proud of this, but employ large agencies to lie about what they’re doing. Through Xenophon we can re-evaluate our current situation and gain a more realistic understanding of what the world is, even if we disagree with the way things go.