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{{Short description|Greek philosopher, historian, and soldier (c.430–355/354 BC)}}
{{other uses}}
{{distinguish|Xenophanes}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Xenophon of Athens
| image              = Bust of Xenophon.jpg
| caption            = Bust statue of Xenophon, dated to 120 AD (Roman period).<ref>{{cite web |title=Bust of Xenophon – Collections – Antiquities Museum |url=https://antiquities.bibalex.org/Collection/Detail.aspx?a=113&lang=en |website=antiquities.bibalex.org |publisher=Bibliotheca Alexandrina |access-date=14 January 2025 |archive-date=14 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214083259/https://antiquities.bibalex.org/Collection/Detail.aspx?a=113&lang=en |url-status=live }}</ref>
| birth_date         = {{circa|430 BC}}
| birth_place        = [[Classical Athens|Athens]]
| death_date         = Probably 354 or 355 BC<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last=Lu|first=Houliang |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eO2mBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA155 |title=Xenophon's Theory of Moral Education |date=2014 |publisher=[[Cambridge Scholars Publishing]] |isbn=978-1443871396 |page=155 |language=en |quote=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.}}</ref> (aged {{circa|74}} or 75)
| death_place        = likely [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://iep.utm.edu/xenophon |title=Xenophon |website=[[Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]}}</ref>
| parents            = Gryllus
| spouse             = Philesia
| children           = [[Gryllus, son of Xenophon|Gryllus]] and Diodorus
| occupation         = {{hlist|Military leader|mercenary|philosopher|[[historian]]|writer}}
| notable_works      = {{Flatlist}}
* ''[[Hellenica]]''
* ''[[Anabasis (Xenophon)|Anabasis]]''
* ''[[Cyropaedia|Education of Cyrus]]''
* ''[[Memorabilia (Xenophon)|Memorabilia]]''
* ''[[Symposium (Xenophon)|Symposium]]''
* ''[[Oeconomicus]]''
* ''[[Hiero (Xenophon)|Hiero]]''
* ''[[Apology (Xenophon)|Apology]]''
* ''[[Agesilaus (Xenophon)|Agesilaus]]''
* ''[[Constitution of the Lacedaemonians]]''
{{Endflatlist}}
}}
'''Xenophon of Athens''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|z|ɛ|n|ə|f|ən|,_|-|ˌ|f|ɒ|n}}; {{langx|grc|{{Wikt-lang|grc|Ξενοφῶν}}}};{{Efn|<small>[[Romanization of Greek|romanized]]: </small>{{grc-transl|Ξενοφῶν}}; {{IPA|grc|ksenopʰɔ̂ːn}}}} {{circa|430}}{{snd}}355/354 BC)<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bearzot |first1=Cinzia |title=The Encyclopaedia of Ancient History |date=2013 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd |isbn=9781444338386 |page=7148 |doi=10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah08169 |url=https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah08169 |access-date=29 August 2024 |quote=He [Xenophon] died shortly after 354.}}</ref> was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating [[Ancient Greek mercenaries|Greek mercenaries]], the [[Ten Thousand]], who had been part of [[Cyrus the Younger]]'s attempt to seize control of the [[Achaemenid Empire]]. As the military historian [[Theodore Ayrault Dodge]] wrote, "the centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior".<ref>Theodore Ayrault Dodge, ''Alexander: A History of the Origin and Growth of the Art of War from Earliest Times to the Battle of Ipsus, B.C. 301'', Vol. 1, [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]], 1890, [https://archive.org/details/cu31924071184281/page/n139/mode/2up p. 105].</ref>

For at least two millennia, it has been debated whether Xenophon was first and foremost a general, historian, or philosopher. For the majority of time in the past two millennia, Xenophon was recognized as a philosopher. [[Quintilian]] in [[Institutio Oratoria|''The Orator's Education'']] discusses the most prominent historians, orators and philosophers as examples of eloquence and recognizes Xenophon's historical work, but ultimately places Xenophon next to [[Plato]] as a philosopher. Today, Xenophon is recognized as one of the greatest writers of antiquity.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Vivienne Gray |title=Xenophon (Oxford Readings in Classical Studies) |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0199216185 |editor-last1=Gray |editor-first1=Vivienne J. |location=Xenophon's works and controversies about how to read them}}</ref> Xenophon's works span multiple genres and are written in plain [[Attic Greek]], which is why they have often been used in translation exercises for contemporary students of the [[Ancient Greek]] language. In the ''[[Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers]]'', [[Diogenes Laërtius]] observed that Xenophon was known as the "Attic Muse" because of the sweetness of his diction.<ref>{{cite book |author=Diogenes Laërtius |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Lives_of_the_Eminent_Philosophers/Book_II#Xenophon |title=Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers |at=Book II, part 6 |archive-date=19 December 2020 |access-date=31 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219232139/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Lives_of_the_Eminent_Philosophers/Book_II#Xenophon |url-status=live }}</ref>

Despite being born an [[Athenian]] citizen, Xenophon came to be associated with [[Sparta]], the traditional opponent of Athens. Much of what is known today about the Spartan society comes from Xenophon's royal biography of the Spartan king ''[[Agesilaus (Xenophon)|Agesilaus]]'' and the ''[[Constitution of the Lacedaemonians]]''. The [[Satrap|sub-satrap]] [[Mania (satrap)|Mania]] is primarily known through Xenophon's writings. Xenophon's ''[[Anabasis (Xenophon)|Anabasis]]'' recounts his adventures with the [[Ten Thousand]] while in the service of [[Cyrus the Younger]], Cyrus's failed campaign to claim the Persian throne from [[Artaxerxes II of Persia]], and the return of Greek mercenaries after Cyrus's death in the [[Battle of Cunaxa]].

Xenophon wrote ''[[Cyropaedia]]'', outlining both military and political methods used by [[Cyrus the Great]] to conquer the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] in 539 BC. ''Anabasis'' and ''Cyropaedia'' inspired [[Alexander the Great]] and other Greeks to conquer [[Babylon]] and the [[Achaemenid Empire]] in 331 BC.<ref name="Nadon">{{cite book |last=Nadon|first=Christopher |title=Xenophon's Prince: Republic and Empire in the Cyropaedia |location=Berkeley |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=0520224043}}</ref>{{page needed|reason=given Macedon's history with the Persians and Philip's preparations, may be a misreading|date=June 2024}} The ''[[Hellenica]]'' continues directly from the final sentence of [[Thucydides]]' ''[[History of the Peloponnesian War]]'' covering the last seven years of the [[Peloponnesian War]] (431–404 BC) and the subsequent forty-two years (404–362 BC) ending with the [[Battle of Mantinea (362 BC)|Second Battle of Mantinea]]. Xenophon's writings on military strategies remain influential and is believed to be one of the first to utilize and describe [[Flanking maneuver|flanking maneuvers]] and [[Feint|feints]] in military tactics.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gale |first=Alexander |date=2025-07-08 |title=Ancient Greek Military Strategies Still Used Today - GreekReporter.com |url=https://greekreporter.com/2025/07/08/ancient-greek-military-strategy-used-today/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250709053241/https://greekreporter.com/2025/07/08/ancient-greek-military-strategy-used-today/ |archive-date=9 July 2025 |access-date=2025-07-24 |work=GreekReporter.com |language=en-US |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Syeda |first=Seema |date=2019-02-14 |title=War Reporters: Xenophon {{!}} Military History Matters |url=https://www.military-history.org/feature/ancient/war-reporters-xenophon.htm |access-date=2025-07-24 |website=www.military-history.org |language=en-US |archive-date=19 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250719043257/https://www.military-history.org/feature/ancient/war-reporters-xenophon.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Life==
===Early years===
Xenophon was born {{circa|430&nbsp;BC}}<ref name="xvii">Strassler et al., [https://books.google.com/books?id=zJuJdxrLo2IC&pg=PR17 xvii] ({{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420002148/https://books.google.com/books?id=zJuJdxrLo2IC&pg=PR17 |date=20 April 2022}})</ref> in the [[deme]] (local district) of [[Erchia]] in [[Classical Athens|Athens]]; his father was called Gryllus ({{lang|grc|Γρύλλος}}) and belonged to an Athenian aristocratic family.{{Sfn|Tuplin|2012|p=1580: "Xenophon, son of Gryllus, from the Athenian deme of Erchia, born into a rich but politcally inactive family around 430 BC"}}{{Sfn|Sacks|Murray|1995|p=268: "Born into a rich, aristocratic family at Athens [...] he married an Athenian woman, Philesia, and had two sons, Gryllus (named for Xenophon's father) and Diodorus"}} The [[Peloponnesian War]] was being waged throughout Xenophon's childhood and youth.{{Sfn|Sacks|Murray|1995|p=268}} A contemporary of [[Plato]], Xenophon associated with [[Socrates]], as was common for wealthy young men in this period, and probably served in the Athenian cavalry.{{Sfn|Tuplin|2012|p=1580}}{{Sfn|Sacks|Murray|1995|p=268}} He appears to have remained in Athens during the overthrow of Athenian democracy under the [[Thirty Tyrants]], and fought democratic insurgents in the civil war of 403–404.{{Sfn|Tuplin|2012|p=1580}}  Accounts of events in ''[[Hellenica]]'' suggest that Xenophon personally witnessed tumultuous political events such as the [[Alcibiades#Return to Athens|return of Alcibiades]] in 407 BC, the [[Battle of Arginusae#Trial of the generals|trial of the generals]] in 406 BC, and the overthrow of the [[Thirty Tyrants]] in 403 BC.

Personally invited by Proxenus of Beotia (''Anabasis'' 3.1.9), one of the captains in Cyrus's mercenary army, Xenophon, sailed to [[Ephesus]] to meet [[Cyrus the Younger]] and participate in Cyrus's military campaign against [[Tissaphernes]], the Persian [[satrap]] of [[Ionia]]. Xenophon describes his life in 401 BC and 400 BC in the memoir ''[[Anabasis (Xenophon)|Anabasis]]''.

===''Anabasis''===
{{main|Anabasis (Xenophon)}}
[[File:Expedition of the Ten Thousand.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Route of Xenophon and the Ten Thousand (red line) in the [[Achaemenid Empire]]. The satrapy of [[Cyrus the Younger]] is delineated in green.]]Written years after the events it recounts, Xenophon's book ''Anabasis'' (Greek: ἀνάβασις, literally "going up")<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Da%29na%2Fbasis ἀνάβασις] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725234724/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Da%29na%2Fbasis |date=25 July 2020 }}, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> is his record of the expedition of Cyrus and the Greek mercenaries' journey to home.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ambler |first1=Wayne |title=The Anabasis of Cyrus |date=2011 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0801462368 |location=Translator's preface}}</ref> Xenophon writes that he asked Socrates for advice on whether to go with Cyrus and that Socrates referred him to the [[Pythia]]. Xenophon's query to the oracle, however, was not whether or not to accept Cyrus' invitation, but "to which of the gods he must pray and do sacrifice, so that he might best accomplish his intended journey and return in safety, with good fortune". The oracle answered his question and told him which gods to pray and sacrifice to. When Xenophon returned to Athens and told Socrates of the oracle's advice, Socrates chastised him for asking so disingenuous a question (''Anabasis'' 3.1.5–7).

Under the pretext of fighting [[Tissaphernes]], the Persian [[satrap]] of [[Ionia]], Cyrus assembled a massive army composed of native Persian soldiers and Greeks. Prior to waging war against Artaxerxes, Cyrus proposed that the enemy was the [[Pisidia]]ns, and so the Greeks were unaware that they were to battle against the larger army of King Artaxerxes II (''Anabasis'' 1.1.8–11). At [[Tarsus, Mersin|Tarsus]],  the soldiers became aware of Cyrus's plans to depose the king and, as a result, refused to continue (''Anabasis'' 1.3.1). However, [[Clearchus of Sparta|Clearchus]], a Spartan general, convinced the Greeks to continue with the expedition. The army of Cyrus met the army of Artaxerxes II in the [[Battle of Cunaxa]]. Cyrus was killed in the battle (''Anabasis'' 1.8.27–1.9.1). Shortly thereafter, Clearchus was invited by Tissaphernes to a feast, where, alongside four other generals and many captains, including Xenophon's friend Proxenus, he was captured and executed (''Anabasis'' 2.5.31–32).

====Return====
[[File:Xenophon and the ten thousand hail the sea.jpg|thumb|19th-century illustration of Xenophon leading his Ten Thousand through Persia to the Black Sea]]
The [[mercenary|mercenaries]], known as the [[Ten Thousand (Greek mercenaries)|Ten Thousand]], had no leadership in territory near [[Mesopotamia]]. They elected new leaders, including Xenophon himself. Dodge says of Xenophon's generalship, "Xenophon is the father of the system of retreat [...] He reduced its management to a perfect method."<ref>Dodge, pp. 105–106</ref>

Xenophon and his men initially had to deal with volleys by a minor force of harassing Persian missile cavalry. One night, Xenophon formed a body of archers and light cavalry. When the Persian cavalry arrived the next day, now firing within several yards, Xenophon unleashed his new cavalry, killing many and routing the rest.<ref>Witt, p. 123</ref>  Tissaphernes pursued Xenophon, and when the Greeks reached the [[Great Zab]] river, one of the men devised a plan: goats, cows, sheep, and donkeys were to be slaughtered and their bodies stuffed with hay, sewn up, laid across the river, and covered with dirt so as not to be slippery and be used as a bridge to cross the river. This plan was discarded as impractical.

Dodge notes, "On this retreat also was first shown the necessary, if cruel, means of arresting a pursuing enemy by the systematic devastation of the country traversed and the destruction of its villages to deprive him of food and shelter. And Xenophon is moreover the first who established in rear of the phalanx a reserve from which he could at will feed weak parts of his line. This was a superb first conception."<ref>Dodge, p. 107</ref>

==== Conflicts ====
[[File:Xenophon Anabasis.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Xenophon's ''[[Anabasis (Xenophon)|Anabasis]]''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brownson |first1=Carlson L. (Carleton Lewis) |title=Xenophon; |date=1886 |publisher=Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/xenophon03xeno/page/n5}}</ref>]]
The Ten Thousand eventually made their way into the land of the [[Carduchii|Carduchians]], a wild tribe inhabiting the mountains of modern southeastern Turkey. "Once the Great King had sent into their country an army of 120,000 men, to subdue them, but of all that great host not one had ever seen his home again."<ref>Witt, p. 136</ref> The Ten Thousand were shot at with stones and arrows for several days before they reached a defile where the main Carduchian host sat. Xenophon had 8,000 men feint and marched the other 2,000 to a pass revealed by a prisoner under the cover of a rainstorm, and at daylight, they pushed in.<ref>Dodge, p. 109</ref>

After the fighting, the Greeks went to the northern foothills of the mountains at the Centrites River, later finding a Persian force blocking the route north. Xenophon's scouts found another ford, but the Persians blocked this as well. Xenophon sent a small force back toward the other ford, causing the Persians to detach a major part of their force parallel. Xenophon overwhelmed the force at his ford.

[[File:Xenophon bust.jpg|thumb|Xenophon, [[Aphrodisias Museum]]]]
Winter has arrived as the Greeks marched through Armenia "absolutely unprovided with clothing suitable for such weather".<ref>Witt, p. 166</ref> The Greeks decided to attack a wooden castle known to have had storage. The castle was stationed on a hill surrounded by forest. Xenophon ordered small parties of his men to appear on the hill road, and when the defenders shot at them, one soldier would leap into the trees. Then, "the other men followed his example [...] When the stones were almost exhausted, the soldiers raced one another over the exposed part of the road", storming the fortress with most of the garrison now neutralized.<ref>Witt, pp. 175–176</ref>

Soon after, Xenophon's men reached [[Trabzon|Trapezus]] on the coast of the [[Black Sea]] (''Anabasis'' 4.8.22). Before their departure, the Greeks made an alliance with the locals and fought one last battle against the [[Colchis|Colchians]], vassals of the Persians. Xenophon ordered his men to deploy the line extremely thin so as to overlap the enemy. The Colchians divided their army to check the Greek deployment, opening a gap in their line through which Xenophon rushed in his reserves.<ref>Witt, pp. 181–184</ref> They then made their way westward back to Greek territory via [[Üsküdar#Chrysopolis|Chrysopolis]] (''Anabasis'' 6.3.16). Once there, they helped [[Seuthes II]] make himself king of [[Thrace]] before being recruited into the army of the Spartan general [[Thimbron (fl. 400–391 BC)|Thimbron]] (whom Xenophon refers to as Thibron).

Xenophon's conduct of the retreat caused Dodge to name the Athenian knight the greatest general that preceded Alexander the Great.<ref>Dodge, Theodore Ayrault. Great Captains: A Course of Six Lectures on the Art of War. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York: 1890. p. 7</ref>

=== Life after ''Anabasis'' ===
Xenophon's ''Anabasis'' ends in 399 BC in the city of [[Pergamon]] with the arrival of the Spartan commander [[Thimbron (fl. 400–391 BC)|Thimbron]]. Thimbron's campaign is described in ''[[Hellenica]]''.<ref>Hellenica III, 1</ref> In the describtors, after capturing [[Teuthrania]] and [[Halisarna]], the Greeks led by Thimbron lay siege to [[Larissa Phrikonis|Larissa]]. Failing to capture Larissa, the Greeks fall back to [[Caria]]. As a result, the [[ephors]] of Sparta recall Thimbron and send [[Dercylidas]] to lead the Greek army. After facing the court at Sparta, Thimbron is banished. Xenophon describes Dercylidas as a significantly more experienced commander than Thimbron.

Led by Dercylidas, Xenophon and the Greek army march to Aeolis and capture nine cities in 8 days, including [[Larissa Phrikonis|Larissa]], [[Hamaxitus]], and [[Kolonai]].<ref name="Hellenica III, 2">Hellenica III, 2</ref> The Persians negotiated a temporary truce, and the Greek army retired for a winter camp at [[Byzantium]]. In 398 BC, Xenophon captured the city of [[Lampsacus]]. The Spartan ephors officially cleared the [[Ten Thousand (Greek mercenaries)|Ten Thousand]] of any previous wrongdoing (the Ten Thousand were likely a part of the investigation of Thimbron's failure at Larissa) and integrated the Ten Thousand into Dercylidas' army. ''Hellenica'' mentions the response of the commander of the Ten Thousand, "But men of Lacedaemon, we are the same men now as we were last year; but the commander now is one man (Dercylidas), and in the past was another (Thimbron). Therefore you are at once able to judge for yourselves the reason why we are not at fault now, although we were then."<ref name="Hellenica III, 2" />

In 397 BC, Dercylidas' force mirrored the movement of [[Tissaphernes]]' and [[Pharnabazus II|Pharnabazus]]' forces near [[Ephesus]] but did not engage in battle. The Persian army retreated to [[Aydın|Tralles]] and the Greeks to [[Leucophrys]]. Dercylidas proposed the new terms of truce to Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus and the three parties submitted the truce proposal to Sparta and the Persian king for ratification. Under Dercylidas' proposal, the Persians abandoned claims to independent Greek cities in Ionia, and the Spartans withdrew the army.

In 396 BC, the newly appointed Spartan king, [[Agesilaus II|Agesilaus]], arrived at Ephesus and assumed command of the army from Dercylidas. Xenophon joined Agesilaus' campaign for the Ionian Greece independence of 396–394 BC. In 394 BC, Agesilaus' army returned to Greece, taking the route of the Persian invasion eighty years earlier and fought in the [[Battle of Coronea (394 BC)|Battle of Coronea]]. Athens banished Xenophon for fighting on the Spartan side. Xenophon probably followed Agesilaus' march to Sparta in 394 BC and finished his military journey after seven years. Xenophon received an estate in [[Scillus]] where he spent the next twenty-three years. In 371 BC, after Sparta's defeat at the [[Battle of Leuctra]], the [[Elis (regional unit)|Elians]] confiscated Xenophon's estate, and, according to [[Diogenes Laërtius]], Xenophon moved to [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Diogenes Laërtius|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Lives_of_the_Eminent_Philosophers/Book_II#Xenophon|title=Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers|at=Book II, part 5|archive-date=19 December 2020|access-date=31 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219232139/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Lives_of_the_Eminent_Philosophers/Book_II#Xenophon|url-status=live}}</ref> Diogenes writes that Xenophon lived in Corinth until his death in 354 BC, at around the age of 74 or 75. [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] mentions Xenophon's tomb in [[Scillus]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+5.6|title=Pausanias, Description of Greece, Elis 1, chapter 6|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu|access-date=3 April 2021|archive-date=25 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425112838/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.%205.6|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Political philosophy==
Xenophon took a keen interest in political philosophy<ref>Pangle, "Socrates Founding Political Philosophy in Xenophon's Economist, Symposium, and Apology", {{ISBN|978-0226642475}}</ref> and his work often examines leadership.

===''Cyropaedia''===
{{main|Cyropaedia}}

====Relations between Medes and Persians in the ''Cyropaedia''====
{{Original research|section|date=August 2025|reason=An editor appears to have made independent conclusions and connections between primary sources, namely Xenophon, Herodotus, and the Babylonian sources.}}[[File:Xenophon Cyropaedia.jpg|thumb|upright|Xenophon's ''[[Cyropaedia]]''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ashley Cooper |first1=Maurice |title=Cyropædia; or, The institution of Cyrus, .. |date=1803 |publisher=London. Printed by J. Swan for Vernor and Hood [etc.] |url=https://archive.org/details/cyropdiaorinstit00xeno/page/n3}}</ref>]]
Xenophon wrote the ''Cyropaedia'' to outline his political and moral philosophy. He did this by endowing a fictional version [[Cyrus the Great]], founder of the first [[Persian Empire]], with the qualities of what Xenophon considered the ideal ruler. Historians have asked whether Xenophon's portrait of Cyrus was accurate or if Xenophon included events from his own life in the story. There is a consensus that Cyrus's career is best outlined in the ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'' of [[Herodotus]].<ref>Steven W. Hirsch, "1001 Iranian Nights: History and Fiction in Xenophon's ''Cyropaedia''", in ''The Greek Historians: Literature and History: Papers Presented to A. E. Raubitschek''. Saratoga CA: ANMA Libr, 1985, p. 80.</ref> Herodotus's account of Cyrus's life contradicts Xenophon's on several points. Herodotus says that Cyrus led a rebellion against his maternal grandfather, [[Astyages]], king of [[Media (region)|Media]], and defeated him, thereafter keeping Astyages in his court for the remainder of his life (''Histories'' 1.130). The Medes were thus "reduced to subjection" (1.130) and became "slaves" (1.129) to the Persians 20 years before the capture of Babylon in 539 BC.

The ''Cyropaedia'' relates instead that Astyages died and was succeeded by his son, [[Cyaxares II]], the maternal uncle of Cyrus (1.5.2). In the initial campaign against the Lydians, Babylonians, and their allies, the Medes were led by Cyaxares and the Persians by Cyrus, who was crown prince of the Persians since his father was still alive (4.5.17). Xenophon relates that at this time the Medes were the strongest of the kingdoms that opposed the Babylonians (1.5.2). In the Harran Stele, a document from the court of [[Nabonidus]], wrote the same point.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Pritchard |editor-first=James B. |title=Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament |publisher=Princeton Univ. Press |edition=3rd |date=1969 |location=Princeton |pages=562–63 }}</ref> In the entry for year 14 or 15 of his reign (542–540 BC), Nabonidus speaks of his enemies as the kings of Egypt, the Medes, and the Arabs. There is no mention of the Persians; according to Herodotus and the current consensus, the Medes had been made "slaves" of the Persians several years previously. An archaeological [[Relief|bas-reliefs]] in the stairway at [[Persepolis]] shows no distinction in official status between the Persian and Median. Olmstead nevertheless wrote, "Medes were honored equally with Persians; they were employed in high office and were chosen to lead Persian armies."<ref>{{cite book |last=Olmsted |first=A. T. |title=History of the Persian Empire |location=Chicago |publisher=Univ. of Chicago Press |date=1948 |page=37 }}</ref>

[[File:Persepolis carvings.JPG|thumb|Bas-reliefs of [[Persians|Persian]] soldiers together with [[Medes|Median]] soldiers are prevalent in Persepolis. The ones with rounded caps are Median.]]
Both Herodotus (1.123,214) and Xenophon (1.5.1,2,4, 8.5.20) present Cyrus as about 40 years old when his forces captured Babylon. In the [[Nabonidus Chronicle]], there is mention of the death of the wife of the king (name not given) within a month after the capture of Babylon.<ref>Pritchard, ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts'', p. 306b.</ref> It has been conjectured that this was Cyrus's first wife; ''Cyropaedia'''s stated (8.5.19) that Cyaxares II gave his daughter in marriage to Cyrus soon after the fall of the city, with the kingdom of Media as her dowry.

====Persians as centaurs====
The ''Cyropaedia'' praises the first Persian emperor, [[Cyrus the Great]], and it was through his greatness that the Persian Empire held together. However, following the lead of [[Leo Strauss]], David Johnson suggests that there is a subtle layer to the book in which Xenophon conveys criticism of the Persians, the Spartans, and the Athenians.<ref name="autogenerated177">Johnson, D. M. 2005. "Persians as Centaurs in Xenophon's ‘Cyropaedia'", ''Transactions of the American Philological Association''. Vol 135, No. 1, pp. 177–207.</ref> In section 4.3 of the ''Cyropaedia'', Cyrus wrote his desire to institute cavalry. He wrote that he desires that no Persian ''kalokagathos'' ("noble and good man" literally, or simply "noble") ever be seen on foot but always on a horse, so much so that the Persians may actually seem to be [[centaur]]s (4.3.22–23).

Xenophon plays upon the post-Persian-war propagandistic paradigm of using mythological imagery to represent the [[Greco-Persian Wars|Greco-Persian conflict]]. Examples of this include the wedding of the [[Lapiths]], [[Gigantomachy]], [[Trojan War]], and [[Amazonomachy]] on the [[Parthenon Frieze|Parthenon frieze]]. Johnson believes that the unstable dichotomy of man and horse found in a centaur is indicative of the unstable alliance of Persian and Mede formulated by Cyrus.<ref name="autogenerated177" /> He cites the regression of the Persians directly after the death of Cyrus as the result of this instability, a union made possible only through Cyrus.<ref name="autogenerated177" />

====Against empire====
[[File:Papiri frammentari con elleniche di senofonte, PSI X 1197, oxyrhynchos 90-150 dc ca..JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.5|Fragments of Xenophon's ''[[Hellenica]]'', Papyrus PSI 1197, [[Laurentian Library]], Florence]]
The strength of Cyrus in holding the empire together is praiseworthy, according to Xenophon. However, the empire began to decline upon the death of Cyrus. By this example, Xenophon sought to show that empires lacked stability and could only be maintained by a person of remarkable prowess, such as Cyrus.<ref name="autogenerated177"/>

Xenophon displays Cyrus as a lofty, temperate man. He is depicted as not subject to the foibles of others. He used the example of the Persians to decry the attempts at empire made by Athens and Sparta.<ref>Johnson, D. M. 2005. "Persians as Centaurs in Xenophon's ‘Cyropaedia'", ''Transactions of the American Philological Association''. Vol 135, No. 1, pp. 177–207</ref> Having written the ''Cyropaedia'' after the downfall of Athens in the [[Peloponnesian War]], this work criticizes the Greek attempts at empire and "monarchy".

====Against meritocracy====
Another passage that Johnson cites as criticism of monarchy and empire concerns the devaluation of the ''homotīmoi'' ("equal", or "same honours", i.e., "peers"). ''Homotīmoi'' were highly educated and thus became the core of the soldiers as heavy infantry. Their band (1000 when Cyrus fought the [[Assyria]]ns) shared equally in the spoils of war.<ref name="autogenerated177"/> However, in the face of overwhelming numbers against the Assyrians, Cyrus armed the commoners with similar arms instead of their normal light ranged armament (''Cyropaedia'' 2.1.9).

Argument ensued as to how the spoils would now be split, and Cyrus enforced a [[meritocracy]]. Many ''homotīmoi'' found this unfair because their military training was no better than the commoners, only their education, and hand-to-hand combat was less a matter of skill than strength and bravery. As Johnson asserts, this passage decries imperial meritocracy and corruption, for the ''homotīmoi'' now had to ingratiate themselves to the emperor for positions and honours;<ref name="autogenerated177"/> from this point, they were referred to as ''entīmoi'', no longer of the "same honours" but having to be "in" to get the honour.

===''Constitution of the Spartans''===
{{main|Polity of the Lacedaemonians}}
The Spartans wrote nothing about themselves or, if they did, it is lost. Xenophon, in the Constitution of the Spartans, wrote:

{{blockquote|It occurred to me one day that Sparta, though among the most thinly populated of states, was evidently the most powerful and most celebrated city in Greece; and I fell to wondering how this could have happened. But when I considered the institutions of the Spartans, I wondered no longer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Xenophon, Constitution of the Lacedaimonians, chapter 1, section 1|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0210%3atext%3dConst.+Lac.|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu|access-date=21 February 2021|archive-date=12 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412221027/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0210%3Atext%3DConst.%20Lac.|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Xenophon goes on to describe in detail the main aspects of [[Laconia]].

===Old Oligarch===
A short treatise on the ''[[Constitution of the Athenians (Pseudo-Xenophon)|Constitution of the Athenians]]'' exists that was once thought to be written by Xenophon was probably written when Xenophon was about five years old. The author, often called in English the "Old Oligarch" or Pseudo-Xenophon,{{sfn|Norwood|1930|p=373}}  detests the [[Athenian democracy|democracy of Athens]] and the poorer classes, but he argues that the Periclean institutions are well designed for their deplorable purposes.

==Socratic works and dialogues==
[[File:Xenophon Agesilaus.jpg|thumb|upright|Xenophon's [[Agesilaus (Xenophon)|''Agesilaus'']]]]
Xenophon's works include a selection of Socratic dialogues; these writings are preserved. Except for the dialogues of [[Plato]] and some pseudepigraphic/apocryphal dialogues, they are the only surviving representatives of the genre of [[Socratic dialogue]]. These works include Xenophon's ''[[Apology (Xenophon)|Apology]]'', ''[[Memorabilia (Xenophon)|Memorabilia]]'', ''[[Symposium (Xenophon)|Symposium]]'', and ''[[Oeconomicus]]''. The ''Symposium'' outlines the character of [[Socrates]] as he and his companions discuss what attributes they take pride in. One of the main plots of the ''Symposium'' is about the type of loving relationship (''noble'' or ''base'') a rich aristocrat will be able to establish with a young boy (present at the banquet alongside his own father). In ''Oeconomicus'', Socrates explains how to manage a household. Both the ''Apology'' and the ''Memorabilia'' defend Socrates' character and teachings. The former is set during the trial of Socrates, while the latter explains his moral principles and that he was not a corrupter of the youth.

Although Xenophon claims to have been present at the ''Symposium'', he was only a young boy at the date on which he proposes. Xenophon was not present at the trial of Socrates, having been on campaign in [[Anatolia]] and [[Mesopotamia]]. It seems that Xenophon wrote his ''Apology'' and ''Memorabilia'' as defences of his former teacher and to further the philosophic project, not to present a literal transcript of Socrates' response to the historical charges incurred.<ref name="autogenerated281" />

===Relationship with Socrates===
Xenophon was a student of Socrates. In his ''Lives of Eminent Philosophers'', the Greek biographer Diogenes Laërtius (who writes many centuries later) reports how Xenophon met Socrates. "They say that Socrates met [Xenophon] in a narrow lane, and put his stick across it and prevented him from passing by, asking him where all kinds of necessary things were sold. And when he had answered him, he asked him again where men were made good and virtuous. And as he did not know, he said, 'Follow me, then, and learn.' And from this time forth, Xenophon became a follower of Socrates."<ref>{{cite web |last=Laertius |first=Diogenes |title=thegreatthinkers.org |url=http://thegreatthinkers.org/xenophon/introduction/ |website=Great Thinkers |access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> Diogenes Laërtius also relates an incident "when in the [[battle of Delium]] Xenophon had fallen from his horse" and Socrates reputedly "stepped in and saved his life."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers|last=Laertius|first=Diogenes|chapter=Socrates}}</ref> During the conversations with Socrates in Xenophon's ''Symposium'', scholarly calculations place Xenophon as an infant of only a few years old.<ref>Danzig, Gabriel. 2003. "Apologizing for Socrates: Plato and Xenophon on Socrates' Behavior in Court." Transactions of the American Philological Association. Vol. 133, No. 2, pp. 286.</ref>

Both Plato and Xenophon wrote ''Apology'' concerning the death of Socrates. Xenophon and Plato seem to be concerned with the failures of Socrates to defend himself. Xenophon asserts that Socrates dealt with his prosecution in an exceedingly arrogant manner, or at least was perceived to have spoken arrogantly. Conversely, while not omitting it completely, Plato worked to temper that arrogance in his own ''Apology''. Xenophon framed Socrates' defense, which both men admit was not prepared at all, not as a failure to argue, but as striving for death even in the light of unconvincing charges. As Danzig interprets it, convincing the jury to condemn him even on unconvincing charges would be a rhetorical challenge worthy of the great persuader.<ref name="autogenerated281">Danzig, Gabriel. 2003. "Apologizing for Socrates: Plato and Xenophon on Socrates' Behavior in Court." Transactions of the American Philological Association. Vol. 133, No. 2, pp. 281–321.</ref> By contrast, Plato argued that Socrates was attempting to demonstrate a higher moral standard and teach a lesson.<ref name="autogenerated281" />

===Modern reception===
[[File:Parlament_Vienna_June_2006_185.jpg|thumb|Statue of Xenophon in front of the [[Austrian Parliament Building|Austrian parliament]]]]Xenophon's lessons on leadership have been reconsidered for their modern-day value.<ref name="administration41">O'Flannery, Jennifer. 2003. "Xenophon's (The Education of Cyrus) and Ideal Leadership Lessons for Modern Public Administration." Public Administration Quarterly. Vol. 27, No. 1/2, pp. 41–64.</ref> The ''Cyropaedia'', in outlining Cyrus as an ideal leader, is the work that O'Flannery suggests be used as a guide or example for those striving to be leaders. The linking of moral code and education is a quality subscribed to Cyrus that O'Flannery believes is in line with modern perceptions of leadership.<ref name="administration41" />

==List of works==
[[File:Xenophon dictating his history, illustration from 'Hutchinson's History of the Nations', 1915.jpg|thumb|Xenophon dictating his history, illustration from 'Hutchinson's History of the Nations', 1915]]
[[File:King's Peace 387 BC.jpg|thumb|[[Peace of Antalcidas|King's Peace]], promulgated by [[Artaxerxes II]], 387 BC, as reported by Xenophon.]]
Xenophon's entire corpus is extant.<ref>See for example the ''Landmark edition of Xenophon's Hellenika''. In the preface Strassler writes (xxi), "Fifteen works were transmitted through antiquity under Xenophon's name, and fortunately all fifteen have come down to us".</ref> The following is a list of his works.

===Historical and biographical works===
* ''[[Anabasis (Xenophon)|Anabasis]]'' (also: ''The Persian Expedition'' or ''The March Up Country'' or The ''Expedition of Cyrus''): Provides a firsthand account of the expedition of the [[Ten Thousand]] into the [[Achaemenid Empire]] and their journey back to Greece. ''Anabasis'' was used as a field guide by [[Alexander the Great]] during the early phases of his expedition into the Achaemenid Empire.
* ''[[Cyropaedia]]'' (also: ''The Education of Cyrus''): Sometimes seen as the archetype of the European "[[mirror of princes]]" genre.
* ''[[Hellenica (Xenophon)|Hellenica]]'': A major primary source for events in Greece from 411 to 362 BC. It is the continuation of the ''[[History of the Peloponnesian War]]'' by [[Thucydides]], going so far as to begin with the phrase "Following these events...". The Hellenica recounts the last seven years of the Peloponnesian War, as well as its aftermath, and is a detailed and direct account (however partial to Sparta) of the history of Greece until 362 BC.
* ''[[Agesilaus (Xenophon)|Agesilaus]]'': The biography of Agesilaus II, king of Sparta and companion of Xenophon.
* ''[[Polity of the Lacedaemonians]]'': Xenophon's history and description of the Spartan government and institutions.

===Socratic works and dialogues===

====Defences of Socrates====
* ''[[Memorabilia (Xenophon)|Memorabilia]]'': Collection of Socratic dialogues serving as a defense of Socrates outside of court.
* ''[[Apology (Xenophon)|Apology]]'': Xenophon's defence of Socrates in court.

====Other Socratic dialogues====
* ''[[Oeconomicus]]'': Socratic dialogue of a different sort, pertaining to household management and agriculture.
* ''[[Symposium (Xenophon)|Symposium]]'': Symposic literature in which Socrates and his companions discuss what they take pride in with respect to themselves.

====Tyrants====
* ''[[Hiero (Xenophon)|Hiero]]'': Dialogue about happiness between [[Hiero I of Syracuse|Hiero]], the tyrant of Syracuse, and the lyric poet [[Simonides of Ceos]].

===Short treatises===
These works were probably written by Xenophon when he was living in [[Scillus]]. His days were likely spent in relative leisure here, and he wrote these treatises about the sorts of activities he spent time on.
* ''[[On Horsemanship]]'': Treatise on how to break, train, and care for horses.
* ''[[Hipparchicus|Hipparchikos]]'': Outlines the duties of a cavalry officer.
* ''[[Cynegeticus|Hunting with Dogs]]'': Treatise on the proper methods of hunting with dogs and the advantages of hunting.
* ''[[Ways and Means (Xenophon)|Ways and Means]]'': Describes how Athens should deal with financial and economic crisis.

===Spuria===
* ''[[Constitution of the Athenians (Pseudo-Xenophon)|Constitution of the Athenians]]'': Describes and criticizes Athenian democracy; now thought not to be by Xenophon.

==See also==
* [[Arexion]]

==References==
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* Bradley, Patrick J. "Irony and the Narrator in Xenophon's Anabasis", in ''Xenophon.'' Ed. Vivienne J. Gray. Oxford University Press, 2010 ({{ISBN|978-0199216185}}.
* Brennan, Shane. ''Xenophon's Anabasis: A Socratic History''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2022 ({{ISBN|978-1474489881}})
* Anderson, J.K. ''Xenophon''. London: Duckworth, 2001 (paperback, {{ISBN|185399619X}}).
* Buzzetti, Eric. ''Xenophon the Socratic Prince: The Argument of the Anabasis of Cyrus''. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014 (hardcover, {{ISBN|978-1137333308}}).
* ''Xénophon et Socrate: actes du colloque d'Aix-en-Provence (6–9 novembre 2003).'' Ed. par Narcy, Michel and Alonso Tordesillas. Paris: J. Vrin, 2008. 322 p. Bibliothèque d'histoire de la philosophie. Nouvelle série, {{ISBN|978-2711619870}}.
* Dodge, Theodore Ayrault. “Alexander. A History of the Origin and Growth of the Art of War, from the Earliest Times to the Battle of Ipsus, b.c. 301”. Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company: 1890. pp.&nbsp;105–112
* Dillery, John. ''Xenophon and the History of His Times''. London; New York: Routledge, 1995 (hardcover, {{ISBN|041509139X}}).
* Evans, R.L.S.  "Xenophon" in ''The Dictionary of Literary Biography: Greek Writers.''  Ed.Ward Briggs.  Vol. 176, 1997.
* [[Vivienne Gray|Gray, V.J.]] ''The Years 375 to 371 BC: A Case Study in the Reliability of Diodorus Siculus and Xenophon'', ''The Classical Quarterly'', Vol.&nbsp;30, No.&nbsp;2. (1980), pp.&nbsp;306–326.
* [[Vivienne Gray|Gray, V. J.]], ''Xenophon on Government.'' Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics. Cambridge University Press (2007).
* Higgins, William Edward. ''Xenophon the Athenian: The Problem of the Individual and the Society of the "Polis"''. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1977 (hardcover, {{ISBN|087395369X}}).
* Hirsch, Steven W. ''The Friendship of the Barbarians: Xenophon and the Persian Empire''. Hanover; London: University Press of New England, 1985 (hardcover, {{ISBN|978-0874513226}}).
* Hutchinson, Godfrey. ''Xenophon and the Art of Command''. London: Greenhill Books, 2000 (hardcover, {{ISBN|1853674176}}).
* ''The Long March: Xenophon and the Ten Thousand'', edited by Robin Lane Fox. New Heaven, Connecticut; London: Yale University Press, 2004 (hardcover, {{ISBN|0300104030}}).
* Kierkegaard, Søren A. ''The Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992 ({{ISBN|978-0691020723}})
* Moles, J.L. "Xenophon and Callicratidas", ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', Vol.&nbsp;114. (1994), pp.&nbsp;70–84.
* Nadon, Christopher. ''Xenophon's Prince: Republic and Empire in the "Cyropaedia"''. Berkeley; Los Angeles; London: University of California Press, 2001 (hardcover, {{ISBN|0520224043}}).
* {{cite journal|last=Norwood|first=Gilbert|title=The Earliest Prose Work of Athens|journal=The Classical Journal|year=1930|volume=25|issue=5 }}
* Nussbaum, G.B. ''The Ten Thousand: A Study in Social Organization and Action in Xenophon's "Anabasis". (Social and Economic Commentaries on Classical Texts; 4)''. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1967.
* Phillips, A.A & Willcock M.M. ''Xenophon & Arrian On Hunting With Hounds'', contains ''Cynegeticus'' original texts, translations & commentary. Warminster: Aris & Phillips Ltd., 1999 (paperback {{ISBN|0856687065}}).
* [[Sarah B. Pomeroy|Pomeroy, Sarah]], ''Xenophon, Oeconomicus: A social and historical commentary, with a new English translation''. Clarendon Press, 1994.
* Rahn, Peter J. "Xenophon's Developing Historiography", ''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association'', Vol.&nbsp;102. (1971), pp.&nbsp;497–508.
* Rood, Tim. ''The Sea! The Sea!: The Shout of the Ten Thousand in the Modern Imagination''. London: Duckworth Publishing, 2004 (paperback, {{ISBN|0715633082}}); Woodstock, New York; New York: The Overlook Press, (hardcover, {{ISBN|1585676640}}); 2006 (paperback, {{ISBN|1585678244}}).
* {{Cite book| last1=Sacks |first1=David |last2=Murray |first2=Oswyn |title=A Dictionary of the Ancient Greek World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KeEjUjSaDA0C |year=1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195112061}}
* Strassler, Robert B., John Marincola, & David Thomas. ''The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika''. New York: Pantheon Books, 2009 (hardcover, {{ISBN|978-0375422553}}).
* Strauss, Leo. ''Xenophon's Socrates''. Ithaca, New York; London: Cornell University Press, 1972 (hardcover, {{ISBN|0801407125}}); South Bend, Indiana: St. Augustines Press, 2004 (paperback, {{ISBN|1587319667}}).
* Stronk, J.P. ''The Ten Thousand in Thrace: An Archaeological and Historical Commentary on Xenophon's Anabasis,'' Books VI, ''iii–vi''&nbsp;– VIII ''(Amsterdam Classical Monographs; 2)''. Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben, 1995 (hardcover, {{ISBN|905063396X}}).
* {{Cite book |last1=Tuplin |first1=Christopher J. |editor-first1=Simon |editor-first2=Antony |editor-first3=Esther |editor-last1=Hornblower |editor-last2=Spawforth |editor-last3=Eidinow |title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780191735257 |edition=4th |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bVWcAQAAQBAJ |access-date=29 August 2024 |chapter=Xenophon |archive-date=27 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240927152946/https://books.google.com/books?id=bVWcAQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}
* Usher, S. "Xenophon, Critias and Theramenes", ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', Vol.&nbsp;88. (1968), pp.&nbsp;128–135.
* Witt, Prof. C. “The Retreat of the Ten Thousand”. Longmans, Green and Co.: 1912.
* [[Robin Waterfield|Waterfield, Robin]]. ''Xenophon's Retreat: Greece, Persia and the End of the Golden Age''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006 (hardcover, {{ISBN|0674023560}}); London: Faber and Faber, 2006 (hardcover, {{ISBN|978-0571223831}}).
* Xenophon, ''Cyropaedia'', translated by [[Walter Miller (philologist)|Walter Miller]]. Harvard University Press, 1914, {{ISBN|978-0674990579}}, (Books 1–5) and {{ISBN|978-0674990586}}, (Books 5–8).

==External links==
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{wikisource|el|Συγγραφέας:Ξενοφών|Ξενοφῶν}}
{{wikiquote|Xenophon}}
{{commons category}}
{{Library resources box |by=yes |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label= Xenophon
  |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
* {{cite IEP |url-id=xenophon |title=Xenophon}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040805114940/http://www.liv.ac.uk/~gjoliver/xenophon.html Graham Oliver's Xenophon Homepage]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040603082017/http://isidore-of-seville.com/small/10.html Xenophon's Education of Cyrus (Cyropaedia) Web directory]
* [http://quotationpark.com/authors/XENOPHON.html Famous Quotes by Xenophon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109014047/http://quotationpark.com/authors/XENOPHON.html |date=9 November 2017 }}
* [https://archive.org/details/cynegeticus00sandrich Sanders (1903) Ph D Thesis on The Cynegeticus]
* [http://roderic.uv.es/browse?value=Xenofont,%20430-354%20aC&type=author Xenophon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706041425/http://roderic.uv.es/browse?value=Xenofont,%20430-354%20aC&type=author |date=6 July 2022 }} at [http://roderic.uv.es/handle/10550/43 Somni] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151203153659/http://roderic.uv.es/handle/10550/43 |date=3 December 2015 }}

'''Online works'''
* [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?q=Xenophon&redirect=true Works by Xenophon at Perseus Digital Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824194029/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?q=Xenophon&redirect=true |date=24 August 2022 }}
* {{cite LotEP |chapter=Xenophon}}
* [http://www.attalus.org/info/xenophon.html Links to English translations of Xenophon's works] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824194030/http://www.attalus.org/info/xenophon.html |date=24 August 2022 }}
* [https://archive.org/search.php?query=Strauss%20Seminar%20Xenophon Leo Strauss' Seminar Transcripts] on Xenophon (1962, 1966); and an audio recording of the entire course on [https://archive.org/details/LeoStraussOnXenophonsOeconomicus Xenophon's Oeconomicus] (1969) are available for reading, listening or download.
* {{Gutenberg author | id=543}}
* {{Internet Archive author}}
* {{Librivox author |id=1547}}

{{Xenophon}}
{{Ancient Greece topics}}
{{Political philosophy}}
{{Authority control}}

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