Anabasis: Xenophon's Historical Work, Analysis of Sources and Style

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of Xenophon's Anabasis, focusing on the historical context of the work, Xenophon's biography, and his methodology. It examines the sources he used, the organization of his material, and his distinctive writing style. The essay delves into the historical events described in Anabasis, including the March Up Country, the challenges faced by the Greek mercenaries, and the impact of the work on historical understanding. Xenophon's honesty in his writings, historical objects, and models are also discussed. The essay further explores Xenophon's causality and historical explanations, the influence of the period's context, and the aims he pursued in writing. Finally, it highlights Xenophon's contribution to the development of history and the Anabasis's influence on subsequent literary and audio-visual works, emphasizing its continued relevance in contemporary historical studies. The essay provides a detailed overview of Xenophon's approach to history, his narrative techniques, and the lasting impact of his work.

XENOPHON, ANABASIS: THE MARCH-UP COUNTRY 1
XENOPHON, ANABASIS: THE MARCH UP COUNTRY
Name
Tutor
Institution
Date of Submission

XENOPHON, ANABASIS: THE MARCH-UP COUNTRY 2
Biography of Xenophon
Xenophon was a Greek historian as well as philosopher born in c. 430 BC in Attica,
Greece and died in 354 BC. He involved himself in mercenary work, was a student of Socrates
and a soldier1. At 30 years old, he was a commander in charge of 10, 000 men. He recorded
several histories between 5th and 4th centuries BC that covered mostly the effects and aftermath of
war. His notable work of Anabasis describes the events that occurred while they were engaged in
activities to overthrow Artaxerxes II from the Persian throne. The rebellion was incited by
Artaxerxes II brother known as Cyrus the Younger. Although, they failed, much of the events are
recorded in the Anabasis work2.
The work of Xenophon cuts across numerous genres. He mostly used plain-language
(Attic Greek) to write his works. Due to his sweetness of his language, Xenophon was
commonly referred to as an “Attic Muse”. The works of Xenophon, majorly falls into three
categories. Didactic works where he has written on the Cyropaedia (Crus the elder life), Hiero
(concerning tyrannies)3, On Horsemanship (about horse), and Ways and Means (on economy of
the Athens). On Socratic works he never wrote much, but the Memorabilia, Symposium and
Apology gives us information regarding the Socrates life. He has written about Hellenica
(Greek’s history from 411-362 BC), Agesilaus (tribute to king Agesilaus II of Spartan), and
Anabasis (expedition of the 10, 000 Greeks from Armenia till they found themselves at the Black
1 Tuplin, Christopher. "Xenophon (1), Greek historian." In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of
Classics. 2016.
2 Xenophon, Xenophon. Anabasis. BoD–Books on Demand, 2019.
3 St Thomas, Andrew. "Xenophon's Hiero." Master's thesis, University of Waterloo, 2016.

XENOPHON, ANABASIS: THE MARCH-UP COUNTRY 3
sea)4. Although the chronological order of his works cannot be established, it is believed that
most of his works dates in his last years of his life (last 15-20 years)
Sources that Xenophon used and organization of his material
Xenophon majorly focused on history as the main source of material. The Anabasis: The
March Up-Country was based on the history of the Greek and Sparta people. The historical
events start with the Cyrus’ revolt, how the 10, 000 marched deep into the Persian empire, death
of Cyrus at Cunaxa, challenges faced by the mercenaries as they marched North to the Black
Sea, and how they attained their freedom eventually5. Essentially, Xenophon relied on his
experiences, historical events, and works of other historians before him as sources for his
writings. Xenophon organized his work in a manner that is easy to follow. The organization of
the events in the Anabasis is in an archeological order. He tells the story from the beginning to
the end in a manner that the reader can relate to and understand the prose of events. He analysis
the Greek culture and the organization of the army and how they used methodical and ruthless
measures to win the battle.
Xenophon style
The work of Xenophon was characterized by novelty6. It involves autobiographical
narratives such as the most famous Anabasis and short non-medical treatise. In other works, he
explored other style of writing in tandem with his genre. For instance, he used idiosyncratic
4 Tuplin, Christopher. "Xenophon and Athens." The Cambridge Companion to Xenophon,
Cambridge (2017): 338-359.
5 Trundle, Matthew. "The Anabasis and the Ten Thousand, 401–399 BC." The Encyclopedia of
Ancient Battles (2017): 1-9.
6 Humble, Noreen. "Xenophon’s philosophical approach to writing: Socratic elements in the non-
Socratic works." In Socrates and the Socratic Dialogue, pp. 577-597. BRILL, 2017.

XENOPHON, ANABASIS: THE MARCH-UP COUNTRY 4
contemporary history, fictive history, and encomiastic biography. He also employed use of
personal experiences in most of his work. The Anabasis, for instance, originated from his
involvement in the Peloponnesian War, treaties resulted from his military command, hunting, as
well as his horsemanship. Hiero was written after his visit to Sicily, Hellenica is a personal
opinion regarding politico-military history of Athens, and Socratic writings was based from his
interaction at his youth age with a charismatic teacher. He also used a didactic way of passing
information by addressing the military skills directly or indirectly7. His description of some of
the events in naive way during that time, is taken by modern people as bland and irritating. The
manner in which he interconnected with the gods in his writing especially on the Anabasis, Book
VII, has been criticized by some people. Some readers either do not believe in gods, renounce the
divine power or could be unreconciled with a pagan theological environment. This makes his
work to be unpopular among some people who feel their faith is insulted. Involvement in rituals
and use of pragmatic attitude such as directing questions to the Delphic oracle, has not been
taken so well by some contemporaries8. He also uses ingenuousness as his style. Although, it can
be defined as poetic, plain, graceful, persuasive, and sweet, currently, this style is taken by some
has jejune. Many describe his style to be understated where he uses modest range of stylistic
figures and expresses the fine effects in a simple and straightforward way9. For instance, in the
Anabasis, he employs an indirect approach to describe the connection between the sea and the
people. The association between the impact and brevity is lost. Himself does not describe that he
7 Humble, Noreen. "Xenophon's Anabasis: Self and Other in Fourth-Century Greece." In
Mediterranean Travels, pp. 14-31. Routledge, 2017.
8 Haywood, Jan. "Divine Narratives in Xenophon's Anabasis." Histos 10 (2016): 85-110.
9 Rood, Tim. "Xenophon’s Narrative Style." The Cambridge Companion to Xenophon (2016):
264.

XENOPHON, ANABASIS: THE MARCH-UP COUNTRY 5
saw the sea, but, goes ahead to describe how the commotion was caused by shouts of those
individuals who saw the sea first. Also, he refers to scenes of celebration that created a huge
cairn of stones as well as showered their local guide with gifts.
Xenophon honesty in his writings, historical objects and models used
The writings of Xenophon are based on partial and non-literal truths regarding the events
that took place. Although, most of his writings are known for their incompleteness and
inaccuracy, they aim at giving us the events that took place at the time. Many question his works
since he cannot be described as a high critical ability author10. His intellectual capability and
moral caliber leaves a lot to be desired. Some readers claim that most of his works were not
original, rather he adapted other people’s works. Nevertheless, Xenophon writings are based on
events that he participated and personal experiences. His writings are full of omissions of critical
facts as well as inequalities in the way he treats various events.
People and events were the main tools that Xenophon used in his writings. They played a
crucial role in shaping the political as well as ethical status of the Athens people. He used events
to describe what was happening in the march-up Country work on the seven Anabasis. He also
used divine entities and other ritual-centered aspects, images, and objects that had a connection
to the divinities11. The Anabasis work encompasses the historical aspect of leadership and
government. It all begins when Cyrus attempts to overthrow his brothers’ government, March-up
to the North, and the battle between Artaxerxes and Cyrus army. It continues to explain the
joining of the Hellenes and Tissaphernes into the battle. Xenophon further gives details on the
10 Rood, Tim. "Self-Characterization and Political Thought in Xenophon’s Anabasis." Fame and
Infamy: Essays for Christopher Pelling on Characterization in Greek and Roman Biography and
Historiography (2015): 97.
11 Baragwanath, Emily. "Intertextuality and Plural Truths in Xenophon’s Historical Narrative." In
Truth and History in the Ancient World, pp. 165-181. Routledge, 2016.

XENOPHON, ANABASIS: THE MARCH-UP COUNTRY 6
area of the battle. The rivers, mountains, heavy snow fall, temple of Artemis, and eventual
victory enhanced by Xenophon. All these historical objects, plays a significant role in shedding
light on the history of Athenians12.
Xenophon has used the Attic purity model through which he narrates the events in a
genuine and naïve manner. Also, he relied on the model of self-representation to pass the
message across. Mostly he used his experiences since he took part in the march-up to the Persian.
The whole work of Anabasis as well follows a stable chronology model in which the events are
laid down in a clear manner13. Concerns have been raised since it has been noted that some
events and people have been omitted in certain periods. It is not clear, however, whether it was
as a result of personal bias, bad memory, or literary idea of stressing certain political and moral
points.
Causality and historical explanation by Xenophon
Xenophon in his works, he was able to interrelate several cause-and-effects relationships
within a historical context. Throughout the work of Anabasis, he correlates several events and
their results both in the short-term and long-term. The Anabasis work is all about activities that
took place and individual character in his time. He offers historical explanation of the events that
took place since he, himself was part of the March-up14. He shed more light on the moral
condition of the governments (states) as well as that of individuals. Being a Socrates, he was able
12 Flower, Michael. Xenophon's Anabasis, or the Expedition of Cyrus. Oxford University Press,
2012.
13 Marincola, John. "Xenophon’s Anabasis and Hellenica." The Cambridge Companion to
Xenophon (2016): 103.
14 Almagor, Eran. "Going Home: Xenophon’s Anabasis in Sol Yurick’s- The Warriors (1965)."
In Rewriting the Ancient World, pp. 85-113. Brill, 2017.

XENOPHON, ANABASIS: THE MARCH-UP COUNTRY 7
to illustrate clearly the ethical conduct of humans. He focused on the divine entities, thereby
influencing the beliefs of people. He emphasized more on the need of oracle, divination, and
sacrifices and how they would enhance their success and victory. As such, the vision of
causality by the historians is obvious. Xenophon described how one event led to occurrence of
others. For instance, Cyrus incited men to overthrow his brother from the Persian throne. This
resulted into a failed encounter which consequently inspired the March-up of the 10, 000 men to
reclaim the Persian territory. Even though, Cyrus died in the war, this did not stop them.
Xenophon took over the leadership15, fought until they became victorious.
Influence of the history by the context of the period and Xenophon aims
Xenophon took part in the 10, 000 march. Although, in the Anabasis work he takes the
position of a narrator, he also brings forth his character. He employed meta-historical aspect of
referencing the past to bring out the commemorative act of his work. Similarly, by him taking the
position of a hetero-diegetic narrator, helps him to achieve his aims of being the key figure in the
March of the 10, 00016. The period that the events took place greatly influenced the history of
Xenophon. For instance, he was born during the Peloponnesian War, which enabled him to took
place in it. Additionally, he was invited to join a mercenary military venture by his friend in 401
BCE to Persia. This marked the beginning of his journey as a soldier and the Anabasis- March
Up the Country originated from personal experiences he underwent during this period. By the
fact that he took leadership roles for the 10, 000 men, he was able to control the soldiers and lead
15 Winter, Jennifer Anne. "The Rhetoric of Leadership in Xenophon’s Anabasis." (2016).
16 Huitink, Luuk, and Tim Rood, eds. Xenophon: Anabasis Book III. Cambridge University Press,
2019.

XENOPHON, ANABASIS: THE MARCH-UP COUNTRY 8
them until they gained victory. He used feints, flanking maneuvers, and attacking in depths
which made him the greatest commander of antiquity.
Xenophon contribution to the development of history
Xenophon works has significantly influenced the Athens history and the history of the
world at large. He has greatly influenced the Antiquity, Middle Ages and also the early modern
intellectual circles17. The Anabasis work has been used in the education systems through which
students learn the history of Athens. Also, due to Xenophon use of unadorned, simple, and clear
writing style, Anabasis is among the first unabridged texts that has been extensively studied by
the students of classical Greek. Xenophon describes his stories in a third person and involves
autobiographical tales especially of the military adventure. The Anabasis has also played a
significant role in inspiring multiple literary works as well as audio-visual works. Many
historians have cited the work of Xenophon while others have used it as a basis for their own
works. It has inspired both fiction and non-fiction works. Non-fiction works include; the
Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian- Greek historian- the work is based on the work of Xenophon
and tackles the life of Alexander the Great with special focus on the conquest of the Persian
Empire18. Also, In the Tracks of the Ten Thousand- by Shane Brennan is based on the Ten
thousand work of Xenophon. It’s talks of the journey on foot through Turkey, Syria and Iraq. On
the other hand, fiction works inspired by Xenophon works are; Journey to the Centre of the Earth
by Jules Vernes, The Ten Thousand by Harold Coyle, The Good Soldier Svejk, The Lost Fleet.
The Lost Army, The Warriors, March to the Stars, March to the Sea, Empire of Man-March
17 Nicolai, Roberto. "Genre, Μodels and Functions of Xenophon’s Anabasis in Comparison with
Isocrates’ λόγοι." Trends in Classics 10, no. 1 (2018): 197-217.
18 Kholod, Maxim. "under Alexander the Great: an interpretation of two passages from Arrian's
Anabasis." Ancient Historiography on War and Empire (2016): 136.

XENOPHON, ANABASIS: THE MARCH-UP COUNTRY 9
Upcountry, and The Falcon. Most of these works are either novel or films based on the historical
events narrated by Xenophon in Anabasis. Xenophon works remains relevant up-to-date which
offers a basis in which upcoming historians can learn from and grow. It also sheds more light on
the ancient history and it shapes the contemporary history.
Reference List

XENOPHON, ANABASIS: THE MARCH-UP COUNTRY 10
Christopher, Tuplin. "Xenophon (1), Greek historian." In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of
Classics. 2016.
Xenophon, Xenophon. Anabasis. BoD–Books on Demand, 2019.
Andrew, St Thomas. "Xenophon's Hiero." Master's thesis, University of Waterloo, 2016.
Christopher, Tuplin. "Xenophon and Athens." The Cambridge Companion to Xenophon,
Cambridge (2017): 338-359.
Matthew, Trundle. "The Anabasis and the Ten Thousand, 401–399 BC." The Encyclopedia of
Ancient Battles (2017): 1-9.
Noreen, Humble. "Xenophon’s philosophical approach to writing: Socratic elements in the non-
Socratic works." In Socrates and the Socratic Dialogue, pp. 577-597. BRILL, 2017.
Noreen, Humble. "Xenophon's Anabasis: Self and Other in Fourth-Century Greece." In
Mediterranean Travels, pp. 14-31. Routledge, 2017.
Jan, Haywood. "Divine Narratives in Xenophon's Anabasis." Histos 10 (2016): 85-110.
Tim, Rood. "Xenophon’s Narrative Style." The Cambridge Companion to Xenophon (2016): 264
Tim, Rood. "Self-Characterization and Political Thought in Xenophon’s Anabasis." Fame and
Infamy: Essays for Christopher Pelling on Characterization in Greek and Roman
Biography and Historiography (2015): 97.
Emily, Baragwanath. "Intertextuality and Plural Truths in Xenophon’s Historical Narrative." In
Truth and History in the Ancient World, pp. 165-181. Routledge, 2016.
Michael, Flower. Xenophon's Anabasis, or the Expedition of Cyrus. Oxford University Press,
2012.
John, Marincola. "Xenophon’s Anabasis and Hellenica." The Cambridge Companion to
Xenophon (2016): 103.

XENOPHON, ANABASIS: THE MARCH-UP COUNTRY 11
Eran, Almagor. "Going Home: Xenophon’s Anabasis in Sol Yurick’s- The Warriors (1965)." In
Rewriting the Ancient World, pp. 85-113. Brill, 2017.
Jennifer Anne, Winter. "The Rhetoric of Leadership in Xenophon’s Anabasis." (2016).
Luuk, Huitink, and Rood, Tim. eds. Xenophon: Anabasis Book III. Cambridge University Press,
2019.
Roberto, Nicolai. "Genre, Μodels and Functions of Xenophon’s Anabasis in Comparison with
Isocrates’ λόγοι." Trends in Classics 10, no. 1 (2018): 197-217
Maxim, Kholod. "under Alexander the Great: an interpretation of two passages from Arrian's
Anabasis." Ancient Historiography on War and Empire (2016): 136.