Summary

Xenophon (Ξενοφῶν, Xenophon) of Athens (c. 430 BC - c. 355 BC) - Greek writer, historian, soldier.

Early years

Information about his life is drawn from his own writings. Xenophon, son of Gryllos and Diodorus, was born around 430 in Athens, in the Attic demos of Erchia. His parents owned landed property, so they were probably wealthy. It is likely that his father belonged to the state of "knighthood," so he belonged to the second property class according to the estimated criteria of the time of Solon's reform. Members of this class were required to serve in the cavalry in case of war. From this environment, Xenophon picked up some aristocratic habits: love of horseback riding, horse breeding, hunting, monarchical sympathies and religiosity. With his own horses, he set out on Cyrus' expedition, and later sent his sons to serve in the Athenian cavalry. Being financially well off, Xenophon received a comprehensive education. Wealthy students received their education at home, and poorer students in private schools. Xenophon took courses in grammar, gymnastics and music, and later studied rhetoric, philosophy and probably strategy. From Xenophon's youth are well attested close contacts with Socrates. He joined him at the very end of the Peloponnesian War around 409. He met him by chance on a steep and winding Athenian street, according to Diogenes Laertios in his work Lives and Views of Famous Philosophers. An exchange of words ensued. Socrates finally asked himself: "where do people become noble and honorable?". Seeing that Xenophon did not know what to say, he suggested: "Follow me and learn this knowledge!". Under these conditions, Xenophon was to become his disciple. He stayed in his circle until 401.To the end of his life he retained great respect for his former master. They had similar political views. They admired Sparta for its order, discipline, tradition, religiosity and justice.

After the defeat of Athens at Ajgospotamoj (405) and the capture of the city (404), the Spartans established from their supporters the rule of the Thirty Tyrants. Xenophon sympathized with them. From some passages in Greek History, it would appear that he served in the cavalry at the time.

The restoration of the democratic system in Athens in 403 marked a turning point in Xenophon's life. The amnesty offered personal security, but his political and military career was essentially shut down. During this period, he received a letter from Sardes from his old friend Proxenos, a disciple of the sophist Gorgias. In it, Proxenos encouraged him to come to the service of Cyrus the Younger, the Persian satrap of Lydia, Phrygia and Greater Cappadocia.

Asian period

Xenophont accepted Proxenos' proposal and in early 401 left Athens and joined some 13,000 Greeks in the service of the Persian satrap Cyrus the Younger. At that time, Cyrus declared war on his brother-king Artxerxes II for the Persian throne, in which Xenophon took part. A decisive clash took place at Kunaxa near Babylon. The royal army lost the battle, but Cyrus was killed in the battle. The Greek chieftains were assassinated as a result of trickery, and Cyrus' Persian soldiers went over to the royal side. The Greek mercenaries were in danger in a foreign country. They decided to return home. Xenophon, as commander of the rear, took part in the famous retreat (the so-called march of ten thousand). The way back was a thousand miles long, leading through the deserts and mountains of Armenia to the Black Sea.

After safely reaching the shores of the Black Sea and crossing the Hellespont, Xenophon with 6,000 Greek soldiers enlisted in the service of Seutes, prince of the Thracian Odrysians. Seutes reneged on the deal, so the Greeks decided to return to Asia, where they took part in Sparta's war against Persia. They served under the orders of Tibron, the Spartan commander. In 396, Agesilaos II, the Spartan king, personally took command. Xenophon joined him as an ally and supporter. The Spartans were successful in war. After capturing Sardes, they had to return to Greece because of Persia's actions in their rear. Persia organized a coalition of Athens, Thebes and Corinth against Sparta. The Corinthian War (years 395-387) ensued. On the way back, Agesilaos II with his army defeated the Athenians at Coronias (394). Athens, for participating in the battle on the opposing side, declared Xenophonos an enemy and sentenced him to banishment.

In the service of Sparta and Skillunt

Xenophon decided to join King Agesilaos after the battle. He sailed with him to Sparta, where he probably stayed there for several years. He participated in the expeditions of Sparta during the Corinthian War. For his merits he was granted the privilege of proxenia, that is, honorary Spartan citizenship. The proxenia was titular, since he did not serve as spokesman for another Greek state in Sparta. Thanks to this dignity, he was able to send his twin sons Gryllos and Diodorus to a Spartan upbringing. He obtained from Sparta an estate in Skillunta (modern day in the municipality of Olympia, where he moved with his family in the early 80s. He took with him his wife Finesia and his sons, called "Dioscurus." His wife's name is of Ionian origin, so she was probably not Athenian. He probably met and married her during his Asiatic expedition. His sons were also presumably born in Ionia, between 399 and 394.

At the age of about 40, he settled in Skillunt, exchanging a lush soldier's life for a quiet landed life. He spent time with his family, diversifying his spare moments with literary work. Skillunt was located in the territory of Elida, near Olympia, on the western side of the Peloponnese. The Spartans took this locality during the war with the Elidians. Xenophon received a house, land from Sparta as compensation for confiscated family property in Attica. He engaged in breeding dogs and horses and spent his time hunting or feasting. He owned slaves who came from Little Asia's Dardania and worked for him in the fields. Xenophon founded a nearby sacred precinct of Artemis, about 4 kilometers from Olympia, as a votive offering of thanks for his happy return from Asia.

Autumn of life in Corinth

The defeat of the Spartans at Leuktras in 371 forced him to leave Skillunt. Probably in the autumn of that year, the Aeolians managed to recapture Skillunt and other towns in Trifylia, except Lepreon. Xenophon placed his family there, and himself proceeded to the city of Elida. It is likely that he tried to regain the property he had taken by legal means, before the Olympian Council. After an unsuccessful attempt, he joined his family in Lepreon, the only pro-Prospartan city of Trifylia. He decided to move with his family to Corinth. On the way, he stopped in Sparta in the hospitality of King Agesilaos. In the fall of 370, the Theban army invaded Laconia, destroying it and leaving the capital Sparta. The following year Xenophon, sensing a threat to his family, decided to leave for Corinth, where he spent the rest of his life. He chose Corinth, a pro-Parthian city in the center of Greece. This is where information from all sides came in. Xenophon here was able to get accounts of what was happening in Athens and Sparta and other countries. The city gave him favorable conditions for further writing. He led a comfortable and prosperous life. He enjoyed popularity among the locals. In the mid-1860s, the former Athenian resolution condemning him to exile was lifted, as a result of the rapprochement between Athens and Sparta. Xenophon regained his civil rights and confiscated family property in Attica. It is likely that his sons, descended from a mother of non-Athenian descent, were legalized. Unlike his sons, he probably did not return to his homeland. He sent his sons Gryllos and Diodorus to Athens. According to family tradition, the sons were to serve in the Athenian cavalry. They fought against the Thebans. Gryllos fell in an equestrian skirmish on the eve of the Battle of Mantinea in 362.Xenophon died around 355 BC, leaving a son Diodorus and grandchildren, among them Xenophon the Younger. It is possible that he was buried near Skillunt on the grounds of Artemis' sacred precinct after his death.

Xenophon is the author of many works on a variety of subjects and spans. His works cover topics such as history, politics, military, economics, hunting, and memoir. The works happily arrived in complete form. He wrote most of his works in Skillunt and in Corinth. The treatise The Political System of Athens (Gr. Άθηναίων πολιτεία, Athenaion politeia) was long attributed to Xenophon. However, it was written earlier, during the early years of the Peloponnesian War.

Xenophon is credited with the authorship of fourteen works, which are variously grouped (from 2 to 4 groups). Here they have been grouped into four groups: socratic writings, political and constitutional writings, historical writings and varia.

1 Socratic writings:

2 Political and Constitutional Writings:

3 Historical writings:

4 Varia:

Xenophon's works are strongly connected with his life. On this basis it is possible to reconstruct his physique and mindset. He was susceptible to outstanding individuals (Socrates, Cyrus the Younger, Agesilaos II). Apparently gifted with beauty, he was guided in life by his ambition to be famous. Wanting to become a man of action, he gravitated toward a practical life, which brought him into contact with the famous Socrates. The philosopher was for him a master of life, a model of conduct. Xenophon knew how to evaluate the philosophical attitude of his master. However, he was interested in his practical side, especially in the field of ethics. He wanted to know how general truths could be applied to specific needs. He was alien to all dialectics, cosmology, and his metaphysics has pedagogical and moralistic goals. He adapted the ethics of Socrates for use by a wider audience. On these ethical principles he created the heroes of his works (Cyrus the Great, Cyrus the Younger, Agesilaos II).

In political views Xenophon was a supporter of the monarchical system. He looked for ideals far from his homeland. He found them in Persia (Cyrus the Great), Sparta (Agesilaos II, Lycurgus). His rulers are chieftains rather than political leaders and therefore his works are filled with military themes. Thus, the writings show the author as an expert in military tactics and strategy rather than a politician. Not surprisingly, Xenophon never held government offices and did not participate directly in public life.

He professed traditional religiosity. He believed in the omnipotence of a god who punishes crimes. He explained Sparta's defeat at the Battle of Leuktras as divine punishment for its faithfulness to the Thebans.

He was a highly respected writer in ancient Greece and Rome. He was included among the prominent Greek historians of the classical era, alongside Herodotus and Tukidides. He was called the "bee of Attica" for his simplicity, clarity of style and grace of language. Such an assessment was probably the reason for the preservation of his works until our time. He was imitated by well-known writers such as, for example, Flavius Arrian. He was also held in high esteem in Roman times. He was praised by Cicero, Quintilian and others. Xenophon was a versatile writer moving among various literary forms, creator of new literary genres (philosophical and military memoir, historical journalism and political novel), and inspirer of other forms and genres in Greek literature. He surpassed the average Athenian of his time with his writing talent and knowledge of the world. His weakness was partiality. He used cleverness, smugness, mystification. On the other hand, he possessed certain qualities. He was loyal to his friends, brave, persistent, believing in a just cause. He was a man of action, hence he did not want to play the role of a scholar-researcher in philosophical speculation or pragmatic understanding of history. His works were mostly based on the author's experience and experiences. With his works, especially Anabasis, he entered the history of world literature.

Sources

1. Xenophon
2. Ksenofont
3. ^ a b Strassler et al., xvii.
4. ^ Lu, Houliang (2014). Xenophon's Theory of Moral Education. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-4438-7139-6. In the case of Xenophon's date of death most modern scholars agree that Xenophon died in his seventies in 355 or 354 B.C.
5. ^ "Xenophon | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy".
6. K. Głombiowski, Ksenofont. Żołnierz i pisarz, Wrocław 1993, s. 11, 16-17; Schnayder J., Wstęp, [w:] Ksenofont, Wybór pism, oprac. J. Schnayder, Wrocław 1966, s. VIII-IX.
7. Głombiowski, op. cit., s. 24-25, 31.
8. L. Joachimowicz, Wstęp do przekładu, [w:] Ksenofont, Pisma sokratyczne: Obrona Sokratesa. Wspomnienia o Sokratesie. Uczta, przekł. i wstęp L. Joachimowicz, Warszawa 1967, s. IX.
9. ^ Canfora, p.
10. ^ Si pensi ad esempio all'uso incostante del duale, arcaico elemento grammaticale non più vivente nella evoluta parlata ionica, ma di uso normale in attico.
11. ^ Antoine Meillet, Lineamenti di storia della lingua greca, Torino, Einaudi, 2003, p. 295: « [...] per il vocabolario e per la vita stessa, Senofonte appartiene già all'epoca ellenistica, e annuncia già la κοινή».
12. La chronologie adoptée est donnée par Robert Strassler, Landmark, 2010
13. a b c d e et f Chambry et al. 2015, p. 115.