Xenophon

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Ancient Classics for English Readers edited by the

REV. W. LUCAS COLLINS, M.A.

The Volumes published of this Series contain

Chapter I

CHAPTER I.

NOTICES OF THE LIFE OF XENOPHON PREVIOUS TOTHE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.

There is none of the ancient Greek authors whose personality stands more clearly before us than that of Xenophon. We owe this entirely to his own writings, for external notices of him are meagre and untrustworthy. But the historian of the expedition of Cyrus, the recorder of the conversations of Socrates, and the varied essayist on so many topics of ancient Greek life, was one of those writers who, in depicting other things, give at the same time a portrait of themselves. His chief work is the account of a military expedition in which he was himself engaged, and in which he ultimately played a very prominent and leading part. So it follows only naturally that five-sevenths of this work are almost pure autobiography. We have thus from Xenophon's own hand a minute and living pic- ture of himself and his actions for more than a year and a half, during one of the most interesting episodes of military history. We have from himself also an indication of his subsequent mode of life in his country residence, when he had settled down into a landed proprietor, and had exchanged the sword for the pen. And all his writings, though perfectly artistic, are so naïve, communicative, and at the same time so consistent in tone, that we can have no doubt that they reflect his real character. They seem to bring the man himself, with his habits and ways of thinking, his principles, prejudices, and superstitions, vividly before us. But except what can be derived from these sources, we have scarcely any information about the life of Xenophon. There is a biography of him written by Diogenes Laertius at the end of the second century a.d. But, like the rest of the "Lives" of Diogenes, it is a mere debris of anecdotes and traditions; and no assertion which it contains can be accepted without criticism.

There is no reason, however, for discrediting the statement that Xenophon was the son of one Gryllus, an Athenian citizen; for this is corroborated by the better-attested fact that the historian had a son also named Gryllus—it being the custom at Athens to call children after their grandfathers. The family of Xenophon must have belonged to the upper middle ranks of Athens, as he himself was one of the class of "knights," or horsemen, for whom a property-qualification was required. But he could not have had much hereditary riches to depend on, else he would not have made himself a soldier of fortune, fighting "for his own hand" in Asia, and being anxious to settle down there as a colonist, had circumstances been favourable.

As to the exact date of the birth of Xenophon, there has been some doubt and controversy. This, however, has arisen from the words occurring at the commencement of one of his minor works, called 'The Banquet,' in which he professes to describe circumstances at which he was himself present. The supper-party in question was connected with the Panathenaic games of the year 420 b.c.; and some critics, assuming that Xenophon must have been more than twenty years old at the time, place the date of his birth at about 445 b.c. This assumption is connected with a story, of apocryphal origin, that Xenophon was present at the battle of Delium (424 b.c.), and that his life was saved by Socrates on that occasion. Other circumstances, however, prevent us from believing in the reality of such an occurrence. And as to the 'Banquet,' internal evidence tends to show that this is a merely imaginative picture, so that we cannot build any theory on Xenophon's having stated that he was "present" on the occasion, and still less can we find any ground in his description of the circumstances for deciding how old he may have been at the time. The real data that we have for fixing the age of Xenophon consist in the terms in which he speaks of himself in relating the "Retreat of the Ten Thousand." And these are sufficiently conclusive for all practical purposes. He twice speaks of the immaturity of his own age, at that period, as rendering him diffident in offering counsel to the other captains of the Greek army. He mentions himself as youngest of the seven officers chosen to conduct the retreat; he relates his own constant performance of duties requiring youthful activity; and he records that the Thracian chief, Seuthes, thinking that he was possibly unmarried, offered him the hand of his daughter. From all this we may fairly gather that Xenophon, at the time of the expedition of Cyrus (401 b.c.), was not more than thirty years of age. His birth may, with great probability, be placed about the year 431 b.c., contemporaneously with the commencement of the Peloponnesian war.

Through the successive phases of that twenty-eight years' war, Xenophon grew up to manhood. He was probably unconscious of the horrors of the plague which raged at Athens during the second and third years of the war. But he may well have remembered in his early boyhood the annual invasion of Attica by the Spartans, and the ravaging of the country up to the very city walls. When about seventeen years old he probably shared in the enthusiasm connected with the sending off of the Athenian expedition against Sicily; and two years later he witnessed the national grief and consternation at the news of the utter destruction of the Athenian force at Syracuse. When about twenty-eight years old, he saw the blockade, and finally the capitulation, of Athens, which in some respects might be compared to the capitulation of Paris in the year 1871. Such comparisons must not be pushed too far; but in some particulars the relation of the Spartans to the Athenian people might be said to be analogous to that of the Germans to the French in the great Franco-Prussian war. The events contemporaneous with his youth and early manhood must necessarily have had an influence on the mind and character of Xenophon. It was altogether an unhappy time—a period in which the national prestige of Athens was gradually being lost. The effect on the mind of a youthful Athenian would naturally be to prevent his feeling a pride in his country. This is, doubtless, an unfavourable circumstance for any one. In after-life we find Xenophon not absolutely unpatriotic—indeed, in his writings he appears constantly to be devising methods for the improvement of the Athenian resources; but we find him deficient in anything like reverence for Athens. He seems to "sit loose" on his country, and he shows a readiness to denationalise himself, and throw in his fortunes with those of foreign states, which can be best explained by reference to the events and influences of his youth.

In the mean time, Xenophon had shared with his countrymen that awakening of the intellect which especially characterised Athens during the very period of her incipient political decline. It was the time when Athenian poetry and art had reached their acme, and now oratory and debate were being studied and practised with zeal; Greek prose style was being cultivated and developed; and, from the discussions of the Sophists and Socrates, philosophy was receiving a new birth. The keen lively mind of Xenophon drank in all the influences of the age. He probably never listened to the eloquence of the great Pericles, but he must have heard innumerable debates in the Agora, and probably took part in many. From year to year he enjoyed the refining influence of the great masterpieces of Greek tragedy brought upon the stage by Sophocles, Euripides, and Agathon; while, at the same time, the inimitable comedies of Aristophanes furnished annually a humorous and intellectual commentary on public events and characters. Xenophon's thoughts must necessarily have been much engaged with war and foreign politics; and, above all, he had the great advantage, during the plastic period of his youth, of being the pupil and companion of the renowned Athenian teacher, Socrates.

We cannot tell whether the tradition, which has been preserved by Diogenes, of the beginning of this relationship, can be regarded as literally true. But at all events it is a very pleasing anecdote. We are told that Socrates, encountering Xenophon, who was "a beautiful, modest boy," in a narrow passage, put his stick across so as to stop him, and asked him "where provisions could be bought?" On Xenophon mentioning some place, he again asked, "And where are men made noble and good?" As Xenophon knew not what to answer, he said, "Well, then, follow and learn." And thenceforth Xenophon became the disciple of Socrates.

He appears to have diligently applied himself to profit by his opportunities, for he was considered by the ancients to have been "the first man that ever took notes of conversations." He made a considerable collection of the conversations of Socrates thus noted down. These were afterwards published in the book commonly known as the 'Memorabilia,' for which all the intellectual world must be grateful to Xenophon. But personally he can only have been to a limited extent influenced by the teachings of Socrates, as he had no taste for the higher and more abstract parts of philosophy, and therefore he only assimilated the ethical and practical elements of the thought of his master. Other pupils of Socrates, such as Plato and Euclid, appear to have derived from their teacher an impulse towards metaphysical speculation, of which Xenophon shows no trace. He was throughout his life a practical sensible man of the world, imbued with the easier and more popular Socratic theories; rather too fond of omens and divination, for which taste he quoted the authority of his master; doubtless much cultivated and improved by all the Socratic discussions to which he had listened, but by no means to be reckoned as one of the philosophers of the Socratic "family."

He appears, at all events, to have regarded Socrates as his mentor and adviser in the affairs of life. We have from his own pen the following account of the share of Socrates in determining the step most important of all in the career of Xenophon. In the year 402 B.C. he received a letter from a Bœotian friend named Proxenus, urging him to come to Sardis and take service under Cyrus, the younger brother of Artaxerxes king of Persia. He showed this letter to Socrates, and consulted him whether he should go. Socrates thought that there was a risk of Xenophon's getting into trouble with his countrymen if he were to join Cyrus, who was believed to have given assistance against them to the Spartans. He advised him to go to Delphi and consult the oracle. Xenophon went accordingly to Delphi; but having made up his own mind on the subject, he barred dissuasion by evasively asking of Apollo "what god he should sacrifice to in order to perform most propitiously the journey which he had in his mind?" The oracle directed him to sacrifice to "Jupiter the King." Having taken back this answer, he was reproved by Socrates, but told that he must now do as the god had directed. Accordingly he performed his sacrifice, and crossed the Archipelago to Ephesus, whence he proceeded to the rendezvous at Sardis.

In this story we see amusingly exhibited the wilfulness of the youthful Xenophon, and the practical shrewdness, mixed with superstition, of Socrates. There might be some risk of unpleasant consequences from taking service under Cyrus, yet, on the other hand, there was a chance of such a step turning out well. The offers of Cyrus had a peculiar fascination for the soldiers of fortune in Greece; and Socrates, even as a practical adviser, may have been not insensible to the same imaginative influence. He followed his own maxim, "In cases of doubt consult the gods," and despatched Xenophon to the oracle of Delphi. The oracular response, as commonly happened in such circumstances, only confirmed the inquirer in the course to which he was himself inclined. And Xenophon accordingly joined the expedition of Cyrus. He joined it "neither as an officer nor a soldier," but in an unattached capacity. The leading events of that ill-fated expedition, and the subsequent adventures of the Greek force which was engaged in it, will occupy the three following chapters; and with all these events Xenophon himself was so completely identified, that the account of them, taken from his 'Anabasis,' will be found to be a continuation of the life of the historian.

Chapter II

CHAPTER II.

THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS.

The best and most interesting of the works of Xenophon is called the 'Anabasis.' This name signifies the "march up-country," that is, from the sea to Babylon, and is only applicable to the first part of the work. The book, therefore, is misnamed, as it is far more concerned with the 'Catabasis,' or "march down to the sea again." Letting this pass, the 'Anabasis' essentially consists of three parts; 1st, The Expedition of Cyrus, and his invasion of the Persian dominions; 2d, The retreat of the Greek contingent in his army to the Euxine; 3d, The vicissitudes of that contingent when they had got back among Greek towns, but still kept together as a mercenary force. These three divisions of the story give us the natural headings for the present and two subsequent chapters.

The Cyrus now referred to is of course not Cyrus the Great (mentioned in the Bible), who had died more than a century previous to this expedition, and who had been succeeded by Cambyses, Darius I., Xerxes I. (Ahasuerus), Artaxerxes I., and Darius II. (called Nothus), who was father to Artaxerxes II. (called Mnemon), and to Cyrus, the younger, with whom we have to do.

Darius Nothus came to the throne in the year 423 B.C., and Cyrus was born after this date. He was, therefore, less than twenty-one years old when our story begins. Orientals are precocious, and early authority matures the powers; but still it must be allowed that he was a young prince of very extraordinary abilities, for in the measures by which he proposed to carry out his ambitious projects, he quite departed from the traditionary ideas of his country. He was the favourite son of his mother, Parysatis, who encouraged him in expecting to supersede his elder brother and succeed to the throne. As he had been born after his father's accession, he had, according to Persian custom, a superior claim to his brother, who, having been born before the accession, ranked as the son of a private person. But Darius Nothus, his father, settled it otherwise, and gave Cyrus, in his seventeenth year, the satrapy of Lydia, Phrygia, and Cappadocia, being, in short, the greater part of Asia Minor, while he nominated Artaxerxes to succeed himself on the throne.

The youthful satrap had, from the first, Greek troops in his pay, and Greek officers about his person. He mixed in Grecian politics, and assisted the Spartans in their war against Athens. Just before his father's death (404 B.C.) he was summoned to Babylon, and, when the decease had occurred, he was charged with plotting against his newly-crowned brother. He was arrested by Artaxerxes, and would have been put to death, but his mother begged his life and sent him back to his province.

Returning in disgrace and anger, he organised with secrecy and determination his plans. He collected more Greek troops by giving out that Tissaphernes, a neighbouring satrap, had designs upon the Greek towns in Asia Minor, and inviting Spartan soldiers to come over for their defence. He employed Clearchus, a Lacedæmonian exile, Proxenus, the friend of Xenophon, and other Greek adventurers who had come to his court, to raise a force for him, on the pretext of an expedition against Tissaphernes, or against the mountaineers of Pisidia. Sardis was the rendezvous, Pisidia the ostensible object; all designs against Artaxerxes were carefully concealed. And, in the meanwhile, the Great King himself was entirely blinded with regard to his brother's intentions. He thought that one satrap was going to make war on another—a circumstance entirely beneath his notice!

With a Greek force approaching 10,000 (they became afterwards rather more by additions on the way), and with a native army of 100,000 men, Cyrus marched from Sardis in the early spring of the year 401 B.C. He proceeded in a south-easterly direction, as it was part of his plan that his fleet should co-operate with him on the south coast of Asia Minor, and the route taken was that which would have led to Pisidia. They marched about seventy miles to the Mæander, which they crossed on a bridge of boats, and stopped a week at the wealthy city of Colossæ, where reinforcements joined them. Proceeding onwards, they reached Celænæ, where Cyrus had a palace and a vast park (Xenophon calls it by the Persian name, a "paradise") stocked with wild animals, which he used to hunt when he or his horses required exercise. In this "government house," which he was destined never to see again, he now rested for a month, and the army was increased by the arrival of more Greek recruits. The Greek contingent was reviewed, and was found to consist of 11,200 men.

In the plains of Caystrus three months' pay became due to the troops. There had been some mistake in the arrangements, and Cyrus was in perplexity, when, most opportunely, he was joined by Epiaxa, wife of Syennesis, king of Cilicia, who came to meet him, bringing a large sum of money as an offering, and with this he paid his men. With the Cilician queen in his company he marched on to the city of Tyriæum, where, at her request, he held a grand review of his army. After the native battalions had marched past, he directed the Greeks to form into phalanx and exhibit a charge. This they did so effectually, advancing at a run with their spears presented, and with loud shouts, towards the Persian tents, that the queen and her people were seized with alarm and fled from the field, while the Greeks burst out laughing, and Cyrus was overjoyed to see the terror with which they inspired his countrymen.

Advancing by Iconium, through Lycaonia and Cap- padocia, towards Cilicia, he sent Epiaxa with a Greek escort under Meno, a Thessalian captain, to go by a direct route over the mountains into her own country. Cyrus himself found the pass over Mount Taurus, which was called the Cilician Grates, occupied by Syennesis. This pass being a narrow defile between rocks, 3600 feet above the sea, might easily have been held; but Syennesis (who was probably acting all along in collusion with Cyrus) had now the excuse that his flank had been turned by Meno, and that he was threatened on the other side by the fleet of Cyrus; so he evacuated the pass, and the invading army, without resistance, marched through the Gates of Cilicia. Descending into a beautiful plain, they came to Tarsus, even then a large and rich city, afterwards the rival in wealth, literature, and science of Athens, Antioch, and Alexandria, and famous for all time as the birthplace of St Paul.

Here it seemed as if the expedition would come to an end. For it was now clear that Pisidia (which they had passed) was not the object of the march; the Greek soldiers suspected that they were being led against the King; they said that they had not been engaged for this service, and that they would go no farther. Clearchus, the Lacedæmonian, the sternest disciplinarian and harshest officer in the army, tried to force his men to proceed. They at once mutinied, and he narrowly escaped being stoned. Laying aside all his usual imperiousness of manner, he stood before his men weeping, while they regarded him in tacit astonishment. He then broke silence, and said "Do not wonder, soldiers, at my grief, for Cyrus has been my friend and benefactor. I was anxious to serve him in payment of his past kindnesses to me. But since you are unwilling to accompany him on this expedition, I am reduced to the painful alternative of abandoning either him or you. Whether it is right or not, I have made up my mind what to do. I will never abandon you. Since you will not obey me, I will follow you. You are to me country, friends, allies. Be assured that wherever you go, I shall go also." The attitude thus taken by Clearchus at once restored him to the confidence of the soldiers, more especially as, when Cyrus sent for him, he adroitly refused to go. His next step was to invite opinions as to the course it would be best to pursue under the circumstances. Clearly, it would be now difficult to get home without the consent of Cyrus, and a little consultation among the soldiers showed that Cyrus was not likely to give that consent. At last it was resolved to send a deputation to the Prince, and ask what was really the service on which they were engaged. Cyrus had an answer at once ready for them. He said that "he expected to find his enemy, Abrocomas, twelve days' march forward, on the banks of the Euphrates. If they found him there they would chastise him; if not, they would consider then what was to be done." The soldiers were not really dupes of this particularly vague answer. But Clearchus had "played them" like fishes. By seeming to yield he had conquered. They contented themselves with asking higher pay, which Cyrus at once granted, raising the wages of each soldier from about 16 shillings to £1, 4s. per month. On this understanding, the army again marched forward and reached Issus, the last town of Cilicia on the sea-coast. Here the ships of Cyrus brought up some reinforcements, and among them Cheirisophus, the Spartan general, with 700 men.

Beyond were "the gates of Cilicia and Syria," two fortresses about five hundred yards apart, with a stream flowing between them. And this aperture, being the only entrance into Syria, was one of the most defensible positions in the whole march. Cyrus had appointed his fleet to meet him here to assist in forcing it. But the one fortress had been abandoned by Syennesis, and the other by the outpost of Abrocomas; and the Grecian army passed through these gates also unchallenged. They advanced along the coast to Myriandrus, a Phœnician settlement. This was the last time, for many a long day, that any of them were destined to look upon the sea. Here two of the Greek captains deserted in a merchant vessel. But Cyrus had the adroitness to "make capital" out of the circumstance. He addressed the army, and showed that he might easily have the deserters captured by his war-galleys, but that he abstained from doing so. "Let them go, therefore," said he, "and remember that they have behaved worse to me than I have to them." The Greeks, even such as had before been disinclined to the expedition, on seeing the generosity of Cyrus, now accompanied him with greater pleasure and cheerfulness. Twelve days' march from this point brought them to the large town of Thapsacus, on the banks of the Euphrates. Here a halt was made, and Cyrus formally announced to the Greek captains that his march was directed to Babylon, against the Great King. The soldiers, hearing this, felt or feigned anger, and declared that they would not go forward without a handsome present. Cyrus at once promised to give every man five minas of silver (£20) as soon as they should reach Babylon; and while they were debating on the offer Meno persuaded his men to earn favour with Cyrus by crossing the Euphrates before the rest had made answer. They followed his advice, and crossed the river at once. Cyrus was delighted. He sent high commendations to the soldiers and secret presents to Meno; and then marching himself through the river, he was followed by all the army. In passing the stream no one was wetted above the breast; and the people of Thapsacus declared that the river had never before been fordable on foot. Every one said that "it was a divine providence, and that the river clearly made way for Cyrus as the future king." After crossing the Euphrates, the Cyreians marched for nine days along its left bank till they came to the river Araxes, one of its affluents, where they halted, and collected provisions from the villages to serve them in the desert which they were now entering. For five days hence they passed through what Xenophon calls "Arabia," a country level as the sea and full of wormwood. All the other shrubs were aromatic, and there was not a tree to be seen. Here they found wild asses, ostriches, bustards, and antelopes. The horsemen of the army had some sport with these. They found the flesh of the wild ass like venison, but more tender, and that of the bustard delicious. The ostrich by its running flight entirely beat them, and not one could be caught. They halted at the river Mascas, and again laid in provisions before entering for a second time the desert, which lasted for a march of thirteen days, during which beasts died for want of fodder, corn failed, and the soldiers lived entirely on flesh. Cyrus pushed along over this part of the way with the utmost expedition. The marches were forced; and at one place where the baggage-waggons had stuck in some mud, Cyrus impatiently ordered the Persian nobles who were round him to assist in extricating them. In an instant they doffed their purple cloaks, and, all arrayed as they were in splendid vests and embroidered trousers, and with their gold chains and bracelets on, they plunged into the mire and executed his orders.

The "Anabasis" was now nearly concluded. They came to Pylæ, or "the Gates," a defile leading from Mesopotamia into the Babylonian territory, only a hundred and eight miles north of the great city. Opposite to this, over the Euphrates, was a town called Charmande, from which the soldiers, on rafts, got provisions, and wine made from dates. Here, on the eve of the conclusion of the march, the safety of the whole army was endangered by a brawl between the soldiers of Meno and those of Clearchus. They were with difficulty appeased by Cyrus, who assured them that "if anything goes wrong with you Greeks, all these natives whom you see about you will instantly be- come more hostile than even the army of the Great King."

As it was, the natives who were with Cyrus continued remarkably faithful to him, even now that it was getting rather nervous work; for they were evidently close to the King's army, and the country around them had been cut up by cavalry and the forage burnt. One noble Persian, however, by name Orontes, endeavoured at this moment to go over to Artaxerxes. This man was a born traitor and sycophant. On two previous occasions he had alternately plotted against Cyrus and whined to him for forgiveness. He now volunteered to go out on reconnaissance, and at the same time sent off a letter to the King, saying that he was going to come over to him with a thousand of the Cyreian horse. But the messenger to whom he intrusted this document took it to Cyrus. Orontes was arrested and taken into Cyrus's tent, where he was tried by a council of seven Persians and Clearchus. According to the report of Xenophon, Cyrus gravely and temperately stated the case against him, and the council unanimously condemned him to death. Orontes was led away to the tent of a confidential eunuch, and "no man afterwards saw him either alive or dead."

Cyrus now advanced cautiously for three days through the Babylonian territory. At the end of the third day's march he held a midnight review of his army, expecting that the King would give him battle next day. He found that he had a force of 12,900 Greeks and 100,000 natives. Reports of the royal army represented them as 1,206,000 strong! But Cyrus addressed the generals and captains of the Greeks, and assured them that the difference of numbers was of no importance. He said, "I will tell you from experience what you will have to encounter—vast numbers and plenty of shouting and noise. If you stand firm, I am really ashamed to tell you what poor creatures you will find these natives to be. Only be men, and I will make those of you who wish to go home the envy of your countrymen; though I hope that many of you will elect to remain in my service."

The next day there was no appearance of the King; but they came on a trench which had been dug to impede their progress. It was 30 feet broad and 18 deep, and stretched for more than 40 miles across the plain of Babylon, leaving a passage of only 20 feet between itself and the Euphrates. But even this laboriously-constructed obstacle was made useless by being left undefended; and the Cyreian army marched quietly through the narrow passage, and concluded the day without seeing the enemy. Cyrus now sent for Silanus, the chief soothsayer of the Greeks, and presented him with 3000 darics (£2600), because on the eleventh day previous he had foretold that the King would not fight within ten days. Cyrus had then said, "If your prophecy comes true I will give you ten talents; for unless the King fights within ten days he will not fight at all."

It was quite natural now for every one to suppose that Artaxerxes had abandoned the idea of resistance. So from this the army advanced in loose order, many of the men's arms piled on beasts of burden, and Cyrus himself riding at ease in a chariot. But at noon on the next day but one after their leaving the trench, when they were at a place called Cunaxa, a mounted scout came in at full speed, shouting both in Greek and Persian that the King was coming up with a vast army in battle array. In hot haste they began to form, thinking that the King would be upon them before they should have time to get into rank. But it was not till the afternoon that they got sight of, first, a white cloud of dust, second, a sort of blackness in the plain, next a flashing of brass; and then the spears and lines of men became visible. It was a mighty mass. On their left, opposite the Greeks, were cavalry in white armour, troops with wicker targets, and Egyptians with long wooden shields reaching to their feet, while before the line at intervals were scythed chariots to cut through the ranks of their opponents. In the centre was the Great King, surrounded by a close phalanx. But though in the centre of his own line, that line was so immense that he was actually beyond the extreme left of the army of Cyrus. Despite what Cyrus had said about the shouting of the natives, they now came on quietly enough with a slow even step.