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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Not a page-turner, but a real document. Maybe a 2 for readability, but a 5 for the real experience of a Greek army in desperate circumstances. The final sentence of the book is, "The distance of the entire journey, ascent and descent, was two hundred fifteen stages, one thousand one hundred fifty parasangs, or thirty-four thousand two hundred fifty-five stadia; and the the amount of the time of the ascent and descent, a year and three months." That captures the detail and the difficulty of the narrative. The distance is roughly 4500 miles, almost all on foot. But the meat is in the speeches. Almost at the end, Xenophon says, "But I, Seuthes, do not believe that any possession is more noble or more brilliant for a man, and especially, a ruler, than virtue, justice, and generosity." That is why you read this. I tried getting into this, and I just could not. It sounded interesting when I picked it up at my library: the story of a group of Greek mercenaries fighting for Cyrus as he tries to depose his king. Cyrus loses, and the Greeks are stranded in enemy territory. I think it could even make a decent movie these days. However, there is a lot of "they marched here for X miles" followed by "then they went here and there." Compared to works like Herodotus and Thucydides, which I have read, this was not as compelling. I am not sure I get why so many people here seem to mark it so high. Then again, it may have been a case of the book did not suit my mood. no reviews | add a review
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One of the foundational works of military history and political philosophy, and an inspiration for Alexander the Great, the Anabasis of Cyrus recounts the epic story of the Ten Thousand, a band of Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Younger to overthrow his brother, Artaxerxes, king of Persia and the most powerful man on earth. It shows how Cyrus' army was assembled covertly and led from the coast of Asia Minor all the way to Babylon; how the Greeks held the field against a superior Persian force; how Cyrus was killed, leaving the Greeks stranded deep within enemy territory; and how many of them overcame countless dangers and found their way back to Greece.Their remarkable success was due especially to the wily and decisive leadership of Xenophon himself, a student of Socrates who had joined the Ten Thousand and, after most of the Greek generals had been murdered, rallied the despondent Greeks, won a position of leadership, and guided them wisely through myriad obstacles.In this new translation of the Anabasis, Wayne Ambler achieves a masterful combination of liveliness and a fidelity to the original uncommon in other versions. Accompanying Ambler's translation is a penetrating interpretive essay by Eric Buzzetti, one that shows Xenophon to be an author who wove a philosophic narrative into his dramatic tale. The translation and interpretive essay encourage renewed study of the Anabasis as a work of political philosophy. They also celebrate its high adventure and its hero's adroit decision-making under the most pressing circumstances. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)935.050924History and Geography Ancient World Mesopotamia and Iranian Plateau to 637LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. Penguin AustraliaAn edition of this book was published by Penguin Australia. |
Xenophon, a military leader, historian, and friend of Socrates, left Athens to join a Spartan mercenary expedition to aid Cyrus the Younger in his effort to overthrow his brother Artaxerxes. Xenophon took command after Cyrus was killed and the Greek leaders were assassinated. With his force of 10,000 hoplites, he fought his way from Babylon to the Black Sea and through Turkey,
Xenophon appears as a character in the narrative. In chronicling his journey, he describes the leadership styles of his enemies and allies. He led from the front and used argument and consensus more often than threats of force to keep his troops in line.
After the death of Cyrus, the Greek army often lived off the land; you would not have wanted to be a villager in their path. In the mountains, villagers jumped from cliffs to avoid them. Xenophon reports with equal coolness, acts of courage, nobility, and brutality.
The Anabasis is a landmark work of military history that deserves to be read alongside those of Thucydides, Caesar, and Herodotus. ( )