An Historical Commentary On The First Book Of Xenophon’s “Anabasis”

Abstract

This is a commentary on the Greek text of Anabasis Book 1.1-8 and 10, written by Xenophon of Athens in the fourth century BC. It follows the tradition of the academic commentary on Greek and Latin texts and begins with a General Introduction, in which themes arising from the text are addressed: its content, its preface, the nature of the work as autobiography and travel book, the characterization of the central hero, Cyrus the Younger of Persia, the other sources for the events described, the speeches, the theme of panhellenism, and the battle that forms the climax of the Book. The commentary follows, selecting those parts of the Greek text that need clarification and giving that clarification in English There is a full bibliography of modern scholarship at the end, reference to which is made during the commentary itself.