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Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been part of Cyrus the Younger's attempt to seize control of the Achaemenid Empire. As the military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge wrote, "the centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior". For at least two millennia, it has been debated whether or not Xenophon was first and foremost a general, historian, or philosopher. For the majority of time in the past two millennia, Xenophon was recognized as a philosopher. Quintilian in Institutio Oratoria, ''The Orator's Education'' discusses the most prominent historians, orators and philosophers as examples of eloquence and recognizes Xenophon's historical work, but ultimately places Xenophon next to Plato as a philosopher. Today, Xenophon is recognized as one of the gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hellenica
''Hellenica'' () simply means writings on Greek (Hellenic) subjects. Several histories of the 4th-century BC Greece have borne the conventional Latin title ''Hellenica'', of which very few survive.Murray, Oswyn, "Greek Historians", in John Boardman, Jasper Griffin and Oswyn Murray, ''Greece and the Hellenistic World'' (Oxford History of the Classical World I, 1986; 1988) p. 192.Thomas, "Introduction," xxvi. The most notable of the surviving histories is the ''Hellenica'' of the Ancient Greek writer Xenophon (also known as ''Hellenika,'' or ''A History of My Times''). The work was intended as a continuation of Thucydides' ''History of the Peloponnesian War'', which was left unfinished and ends abruptly in the year 411 BC.Xenophon (2010), Thomas, David, "Introduction," p. x. Xenophon's ''Hellenica'' covers the years 411-362 BC, through the end of the Peloponnesian War and its aftermath.Thomas, "Introduction," ix. ''Hellenica'' is usually considered to be a difficult work for modern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anabasis (Xenophon)
''Anabasis'' ( ; ; ) is the most famous work of the Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek professional soldier and writer Xenophon. It gives an account of the expedition of the Ten Thousand (Greek), Ten Thousand, an army of Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Younger to help him seize the throne of Achaemenid Empire, Persia from his brother, Artaxerxes II, in 401 BC. The seven books making up the ''Anabasis'' were composed . Although as an Ancient Greek vocabulary word () meaning 'embarkation', 'ascent' or 'mounting up', the title ''Anabasis'' has been rendered by some translators as ''The March Up Country'' or as ''The March of the Ten Thousand''. The story of the army's journey across Asia Minor and Mesopotamia is Xenophon's best known work and "one of the great adventures in human history". Authorship Xenophon, in his ''Hellenica#Xenophon's Hellenica, Hellenica'', did not cover the retreat of Cyrus but instead referred the reader to the ''Anabasis'' by "Themistogenes of Syracuse"� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ten Thousand
The Ten Thousand (, ''hoi Myrioi'') were a force of mercenary units, mainly Greeks, employed by Cyrus the Younger to attempt to wrest the throne of the Persian Empire from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Their march to the Battle of Cunaxa and back to Greece (401–399 BC) was recorded by Xenophon, one of their leaders, in his work '' Anabasis''. Campaign Between 401 and 399 BC, the Ten Thousand marched across Anatolia, fought the Battle of Cunaxa, and then marched back to Greece. Xenophon stated in '' Anabasis'' that the Greek heavy troops routed their opposition twice at Cunaxa at the cost of only one Greek soldier wounded. Only after the battle did they hear that Cyrus had been killed, making their victory irrelevant and the expedition a failure. The Ten Thousand found themselves far from home with no food, no employer, and no reliable allies. They offered to make their Persian ally Ariaeus king, but he refused on the grounds that he was not of royal blood and would not f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agesilaus (Xenophon)
The ''Agesilaus'' ( /əˌdʒɛsəˈleɪəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἀγησίλαος) is a minor work by the Ancient Greek writer Xenophon. The ''Agesilaus'' is a posthumous biography of the eponymous Agesilaus II (c. 440 BC – c. 360 BC), the King of Sparta, general, and important patron of Xenophon. Xenophon’s stated goal is to produce an encomium or eulogy. Xenophon portrays Agesilaus as a highly skilled military tactician and ruler, endowed with exemplary moral virtue and character. The ''Agesilaus'' provides an outline of Xenophon’s views on virtue, with the Spartan king used as a role model throughout. The ''Agesilaus'' was written shortly after Agesilaus’ death in 360-359 BC large parts of it were copied over to the second part of ''Hellenica'', a history also by Xenophon, with only slight alterations''.'' Outline The ''Agesilaus'' is organised into 11 chapters, though a majority of the work is contained in chapters 1 and 2, which are devoted primarily to Agesilaus� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memorabilia (Xenophon)
''Memorabilia'' (original title in ) is a collection of Socratic dialogues by Xenophon, a student of Socrates. The lengthiest and most famous of Xenophon's Socratic writings, the ''Memorabilia'' is essentially an apologia (defense) of Socrates, differing from both Xenophon's ''Apology of Socrates to the Jury'' and Plato's ''Apology'' mainly in that the Apologies present Socrates as defending himself before the jury, whereas the former presents Xenophon's own defense of Socrates, offering edifying examples of Socrates' conversations and activities along with occasional commentary from Xenophon. ''Memorabilia'' was particularly influential in Cynic and later Stoic philosophy. Title Memorabilia is also known by its Latin title ''Commentarii'' and a variety of English translations (Recollections, Memoirs, Conversations of Socrates, etc.). Date of composition The ''Memorabilia'' was probably completed after 371 BC, as one passage (III.5) appears to assume the military situation a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symposium (Xenophon)
The ''Symposium'' () is a Socratic dialogue written by Xenophon in the late 360s B.C. In it, Socrates and a few of his companions attend a symposium (a dinner party at which Greek aristocrats could enjoy entertainment and discussion) hosted by Kallias for the young man Autolykos. Xenophon claims that he was present at the symposium, although this is disputed because he would have been too young to attend. The dramatic date for the ''Symposium'' is 422 B.C. Entertainment at the dinner is provided by the Syracusan and his three performers. Their feats of skill thrill the attendants and serve as points of conversation throughout the dialogue. Much of the discussion centers on what each guest is most proud of. All their answers are playful or paradoxical: Socrates, for one, prides himself on his knowledge of the art of match-making. Major themes of the work include beauty and desire, wisdom, virtue, and laughter which is evoked by Philippos the jester and the jocular discourse of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyropaedia
The ''Cyropaedia'', sometimes spelled ''Cyropedia'', is a partly fictional biography of Cyrus the Great, the founder of Persia's Achaemenid Empire. It was written around 370 BC by Xenophon, the Athens, Athenian-born soldier, historian, and student of Socrates. The Latinized title ''Cyropaedia'' derives from the Ancient Greek language, Greek ''Kúrou paideía'' (), meaning The Education of Cyrus. Aspects of it would become a model for medieval writers of the genre mirrors for princes. In turn, the ''Cyropaedia'' strongly influenced the most well-known but atypical of these, Machiavelli's ''The Prince'', which fostered the rejection of medieval political thinking and development of modern politics. Format In substance, the ''Cyropaedia'' is a narrative describing the education of the ideal ruler. It has been interpreted as an early novel, a biography, and a manifesto on leadership. The work is intended to communicate political and moral instruction to its audience, most of whom wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constitution Of The Lacedaemonians
The ''Lacedaemonion Politeia'' (), known in English as the ''Polity'', ''Constitution'', or ''Republic of the Lacedaemonians'', or the ''Spartan Constitution'',Hall 204.Marincola 349.Lipka 9: "Both arguments carry all the more weight since the ''SC'' is the only surviving Spartan constitution". is a treatise attributed to the ancient Greek historian Xenophon, describing the institutions, customs, and practices of the ancient Spartans.Proietti 44–58.Xenophon, ''Hellenica'' 73–74. The work examines the reasons for Sparta's power and renown, despite the city state's sparse population. There are fifteen chapters: the first thirteen enumerate the practices and institutions that made Sparta great; the last two describe Sparta's decline and the survival of its monarchy. The ''Polity'' dates to the period between 387 and 375 BC, and is the only contemporary account of the Spartan political system which survives. Together with Plutarch's " Life of Lycurgus", it provides the most d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apology (Xenophon)
The ''Apology of Socrates to the Jury'' (), by Xenophon of Athens, is a Socratic dialogue about the legal defence that the philosopher Socrates presented at his trial for the moral corruption of Athenian youth; and for '' asebeia'' ( impiety) against the pantheon of Athens; judged guilty, Socrates was sentenced to death. Xenophon’s literary rendition of the defence of Socrates evinces the philosopher’s ethical opinion about a sentence of death: that it is better to die before the onset of senility than to escape death by humbling oneself to an unjust persecution. The other extant primary source about the persons and events of the Trial of Socrates (399 BC) is the '' Apology of Socrates'', by Plato. History The ''Apology of Socrates to the Jury'' is Xenophon’s literary contribution to the many apologia written to explain the trial of Socrates (399 BC) to the Athenian public. Each book was its author’s perceptions and interpretations of the guilty verdict against the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyrus The Younger
Cyrus the Younger ( ''Kūruš''; ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC in battle during a failed attempt to oust his elder brother, Artaxerxes II, from the Persian throne. The history of Cyrus and of the retreat of his Greek mercenaries is told by Xenophon in his '' Anabasis''. Another account, probably from Sophaenetus of Stymphalus, was used by Ephorus. Further information is contained in the excerpts from Artaxerxes II's physician, Ctesias, by Photius; ''Plutarch’s Lives'' of Artaxerxes II and Lysander; and Thucydides' ''History of Peloponnesian War''. These are the only early sources of information on Cyrus the Younger. Biography According to Xenophon, Cyrus the Younger was born after the accession of his father in 424 BC. He had an elder brother, Arsicas (whose name changed to Artaxerxes II when he ascended the throne), and two younger bro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oeconomicus
The ''Oeconomicus'' () by Xenophon is a Socratic dialogue principally about household management and agriculture. ''Oeconomicus'' comes from the Ancient Greek words '' oikos'' for home or house and ''nemein'' which means management, literally translated to 'household management'. It is one of the earliest works on economics in its original sense of household management, and a significant source for the social and intellectual history of Classical Athens. Some philologues see the work as the source of the word "economy". Beyond the emphasis on household economics, the dialogue treats such topics as the qualities and relationships of men and women, rural vs. urban life, slavery, religion, and education. Xenophon explores gentlemanliness, husbandry, and gender roles, through Socrates' conversations about wealth and, more specifically, household management. Joseph Epstein states that the ''Oeconomicus'' can actually be seen as a treatise on success in leading both an army and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sparta
Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern Peloponnese. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece. Sparta was recognized as the leading force of the unified Greek military during the Greco-Persian Wars, in rivalry with the rising naval power of Classical Athens, Athens. Sparta was the principal enemy of History of Athens, Athens during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), from which it emerged victorious after the Battle of Aegospotami. The decisive Battle of Leuctra against Thebes, Greece, Thebes in 371 BC ended the Spartan hegemony, although the city-state maintained its Independence, political independence until its forced integration into the Achaean League in 192 BC. The city nevertheless recovered m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
