Xenophon
Xenophon (c. 430 – c. 354 BC) was an Athenian soldier and historian. A pupil of Socrates, in 401 BC he joined the Greek mercenaries of the Persian prince Cyrus, and after the Battle of Cunaxa he helped lead the ten thousand men who had lost their commanders back to the Black Sea. He is famous as the author of that campaign's account, the Anabasis, as well as the Hellenica and the Memorabilia of Socrates.
| Lived | c. 430 BC – c. 354 BC |
|---|---|
| Active in | Athens · Persian Empire (Sardis, Mesopotamia, Armenia) · Sparta · Scillus |
| Known for | The Anabasis; a general of the march of the Ten Thousand |
| Game start | 401 BC · age 29 · Young Athenian in Cyrus's mercenary army (cavalry class) — The Return of the Ten Thousand |
Life at a glance
- c. 430 BC Born in the Athenian deme of Erchia, son of Gryllus, of the cavalry class. As a young man he follows Socrates.
- 401 BC Invited by his Boeotian friend Proxenus, he joins Cyrus's mercenaries at Sardis. In September Cyrus is killed at the Battle of Cunaxa, and when Tissaphernes seizes the Greek generals, Xenophon is elected one of the new generals.
- 400 BC Through the mountains of the Carduchi and the snows of Armenia, the army sees the sea from Mount Theches and reaches Trapezus on the Black Sea.
- 399 BC He hands over the mercenaries, then serving Seuthes of Thrace, to the Spartan general Thibron. The same year Socrates is executed in Athens.
- 396 BC Follows the Spartan king Agesilaus, who has crossed into Asia.
- 394 BC Fights on Agesilaus's side at the Battle of Coronea. He is thought to have been exiled from Athens around this time.
- c. 390 BC Sparta gives him land at Scillus near Olympia, where he builds a temple to Artemis and writes for many years.
- 371 BC When Spartan power is broken at the Battle of Leuctra, he leaves Scillus for Corinth.
- 362 BC His son Gryllus, fighting in the Athenian cavalry after his exile was lifted, is killed at the Battle of Mantinea.
- c. 354 BC Dies, in Corinth according to some, in Athens according to others.
Family
The family members who appear with this character when you start the game. Years follow the historical record; where none survives, a ? is shown.
| Relation | Name | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Father | Gryllus | Dates unknown | Of the cavalry class of Erchia |
| Mother | Diodora | Dates unknown | The name given by Diogenes Laërtius |
| Wife | Philesia | Dates unknown | In the game she enters your life later |
| Son | Gryllus | ? – 362 BC | Killed at Mantinea, 362 BC |
| Son | Diodorus | Dates unknown | The two sons were said to be called “the Dioscuri” |
In the game
You begin in spring 401 BC at Sardis (around Smyrna on the game map) as a young Athenian of twenty-nine in Cyrus's Greek mercenary army. You have no land, no wife and little gold, but a healthy body and a good mind. Beside you are your friend Proxenus, the Spartan Clearchus and Cyrus himself, master of the army.
Instead of a Currents of History story, this scenario has a turning point judged in the first year: “If Cyrus had lived at Cunaxa”. How you calmed the soldiers at Tarsus and whether you stayed at Cyrus's side on the field of Cunaxa settle the odds on the spot. If Cyrus falls, real history runs to the end through the night on the Greater Zab and the election of generals, the snows of Armenia, the cry of “The sea!”, Agesilaus and Coronea, exile and Scillus; if he survives, another branch leads to the King of Kings in Babylon, a Greek bodyguard and a campaign on the Nile.
Small details from the Anabasis turn into events: if you leave Artemis's share of the spoils in trust at Ephesus, it later becomes the money to buy the goddess's land at Scillus. The real-history branch ends in 360 BC in a study at Corinth.
- Scenario guide The Return of the Ten Thousand
- Era guide Classical Greece
- Related turning points What if Cyrus the Younger had survived at Cunaxa?
Frequently asked questions
What is the Anabasis?
Xenophon's account, written about himself in the third person, of Cyrus's campaign in 401–399 BC and the return of the Greek mercenaries. The title means “the march up country”, and its plain, clear Attic prose made it a standard first reader for students of Greek for centuries.
What was the “march of the Ten Thousand”?
After Cyrus was killed at Cunaxa in 401 BC and the generals were seized, about ten thousand Greek mercenaries walked from the heart of the Persian Empire through mountains and snow to the coast of the Black Sea. The scene on Mount Theches where the soldiers saw the sea and shouted “Thalatta! Thalatta!” (“The sea! The sea!”) is famous.
Why was Xenophon exiled from Athens?
Reasons usually given are that he served the Persian prince Cyrus, who had helped Sparta against Athens, and that he followed the Spartan king Agesilaus and fought against a coalition that included Athens. Scholars disagree whether he was exiled around 399 BC or around 394 BC.
Sources
Xenophon, Anabasis, Hellenica and Memorabilia; Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, book 2.