Information AboutXenophon |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT XENOPHON | |
| ancient athenians | |
| ancient greek generals | |
| ancient greek historians | |
| ancient greek military writers | |
| riding masters | |
| mercenaries | |
| 431 bc births | |
| 355 bc deaths | |
| greco-persian wars | |
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Historian ]] Xenophon (In Greek , c. 427 - 355 BC ), son of Gryllus, of the Deme Erchia of Athens , was a Soldier , Mercenary and an admirer of Socrates and is known for his writings on the History of His Own Times , the sayings of Socrates, and the life of Greece . While a young man, Xenophon participated in the expedition led by Cyrus The Younger against his older brother, the emperor Artaxerxes II of Persia , in 401 BC . Xenophon says that he had asked the veteran Socrates for advice on whether to go with Cyrus, and that Socrates referred him to the divinely inspired Delphic Oracle . Xenophon's query to the oracle, however, was not whether or not to accept Cyrus' invitation, but "to which of the gods he must pray and do sacrifice, so that he might best accomplish his intended journey and return in safety, with good fortune." So the oracle told him which gods to pray and sacrifice to. When Xenophon returned to Athens and told Socrates of the oracle's advice, Socrates chastised him for putting the wrong question to the oracle, but said, "Since, however, you did so put the question, you should do what the God enjoined." (This, by the way, is the only personal interaction with Socrates that Xenophon relates to us in all his writings.) In Cyrus' advance against the Persian king, he used many Greek of Sparta , was invited to a peace conference, betrayed, and executed. The mercenaries, the Ten Thousand Greeks, found themselves deep in hostile territory, near the heart of Mesopotamia , far from the sea, and without leadership. They elected new leaders, including Xenophon himself, and fought their way north through hostile Persians, Armenia ns, and Kurds to Trapezus on the coast of the Black Sea and then sailed westward and back to Greece . In Thrace , they helped Seuthes II make himself king. Xenophon's record of this expedition and the journey home was titled '' Anabasis '' ("The Expedition" or "The March Up Country" ). Xenophon’s historical account in the ''.'' (Rex Warner, Trans.). With an introduction and notes by George Cawkwell. New York, NY: Penguin Books. First Penguin publication date of 1949.) Xenophon was later exiled from Athens , probably because he fought under the Sparta n king Agesilaus against Athens at Coroneia . (It is possible that he had already been exiled for his association with Cyrus, however.) The Spartans gave him property at Scillus , near Olympia in Elis, where the ''Anabasis'' was composed. His son Gryllus fought and died for Athens at the Battle Of Mantinea , while Xenophon was still alive, so Xenophon's banishment may have been revoked. Xenophon died at Corinth , or perhaps Athens, and his date of death is uncertain; it is known only that he survived his patron Agesilaus, for whom he wrote an Encomium . Diogenes Laertius says Xenophon was sometimes known as the "Attic Muse" for the sweetness of his diction; very few poets wrote in the Attic Dialect . Xenophon is often cited as being the original " Horse Whisperer ", having advocated sympathetic Horsemanship in his '' On Horsemanship ''. LIST OF WORKS Xenophon's writings, especially the ''Anabasis'', are often read by beginning students of the Greek Language . His '' Hellenica '' is one chief source for events in Greece from 411 to 362 BC, and his Socratic writings, preserved complete, are the only surviving representatives of the genre of Sokratikoi Logoi other than the dialogues of Plato. Historical and Biographical works
Socratic works and dialogues
Short treatises
In addition, we have a short treatise once thought to be by Xenophon, but which was probably written when Xenophon was about five, on the Constitution Of Athens . This is found in manuscripts among the short works of Xenophon, as though he had written it also. The author, often called in English the " Old Oligarch ", detests the democracy of Athens and the poorer classes - but argues that the Periclean institutions are well designed for their deplorable purposes. Willing obedience always beats forced obedience PROJECT GUTENBERG E-TEXTS
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