Ελληνικά Α-Δ

Xenophon (ca. 430-354) was a wealthy Athenian friend of Socrates. He left Athens in 401 to join an expedition including 10,000 Greeks led by the Persian governor Cyrus against the king. After Cyrus' defeat, it fell to Xenophon to lead the Greeks from the gates of Babylon back to the coast thru inhospitable lands. Later he wrote a vivid account of the Anabasis; but meanwhile he entered service under Sparta against the Persian king, married happily & joined the staff of King Agesilaus II. Athens was at war with Sparta in 394 & so exiled him. Sparta gave him an estate near Elis where he lived for years writing, hunting & educating his sons. Reconciled to Sparta, Athens restored him to honor but he preferred retiring to Corinth. Xenophon's Hellenica, a history of Greek affairs from 411 to 362, continues Thucydides' account. There are four works on Socrates (Xenophon 4). Memorabilia adds to Plato's picture of Socrates from a different viewpoint. The Apology complements Plato's account of Socrates' defense at his trial. Symposium portrays a dinner party at which Socrates speaks of love. Oeconomicus has him giving advice on household management & married life. Cyropaedia, a historical romance on Cyrus the Elder's education, reflects Xenophon's ideas about rulers & government; the Loeb edition is in two volumes. We also have his Hiero, a dialog on government; Agesilaus, praising that king; Constitution of Lacedaemon on the Spartan system; Ways & Means on Athenian finances; Manual for a Cavalry Commander; a manual of Horsemanship & Hunting with Hounds. The Constitution of the Athenians, not by Xenophon, is a document on Athenian politics. These eight books are collected in the last of the seven volumes of the Loeb Classical Library Xenophon.