"The Persian Expedition" by Xenophon
I hesitate to title this a summary or review, since that isn’t the intent. I find if I try to write a short piece on my thoughts about a book, I’ll read closer and retain more about what I read.
The Persian Expedition (often known as Anabasis) recalls one of the greatest military accomplishments in history. In 401 BC, just after the Peloponnesian War ended, 13,000 Greek mercenary soldiers were hired by the Persian prince Cyrus the Younger. They were told this was a mission against some tribes that had been causing trouble. After the troops passed the area where the uprising was supposedly taking place, Cyrus revealed the true mission: kill his brother King Artaxerxes II and become king of the Persian Empire. The Greeks continued and ended up fighting the Persian forces on the plain of Cunaxa (not far from current-day Baghdad).
The Greek forces easily broke Artaxerxes’ troops, but at a decisive moment a brash Cyrus saw his brother and wildly charged him. Cyrus was killed and former Persian friends quickly turned against the Greeks. Stranded in a hostile country without supplies, the Greeks traveled 1,500 miles north to the Black Sea over the next nine months (the so-called “March of the 10,000"). When Cyrus' general asked them to lay down their arms, the Greeks responded “We have nothing of value left to us other than our weapons and our courage: if we keep our weapons we think we would be able to use our courage.” Harassed the entire trip, their success through the harsh weather with no supplies and against numerous enemies comprises the bulk of the story.
Xenophon was one of the generals chosen to lead the Greeks home and wrote about the experience years later. He refers to himself in the third person (the book was released anonymously) and he details the democratic approach the troops took in successfully surviving the ordeal. Compared to Herodotus and Thucydides, Xenophon is a simplistic writer only relaying what happened. Yet his book has shown influence over the years lacking in the others. Much of this is due to the Anabasis being a required text for Greek courses (much more popular—and required—in the 18th and 19th centuries than now).
But there are lessons to be drawn from the example of the 10,000 as well as from their speeches during deliberations. Their example of voting on important decision, pooling resources, and developing new tactics on the fly have resonated over the years. Their cry of “Thalatta! Thalatta!” (The sea! The sea!) when they glimpsed the Black Sea has been used as an allusion in many adventure stories once an impossible ordeal has been completed. The book I’m currently reading compiles and examines an exhaustive list of such allusions.
No financial lessons here, other than the importance of paying your troops what you promise them (the King of Thrace tried to stiff the Greeks toward the end of the book, with bad results). Just a continuation on my journey to read ancient history and literature, which I hope you don’t mind me relaying.
The Persian Expedition (often known as Anabasis) recalls one of the greatest military accomplishments in history. In 401 BC, just after the Peloponnesian War ended, 13,000 Greek mercenary soldiers were hired by the Persian prince Cyrus the Younger. They were told this was a mission against some tribes that had been causing trouble. After the troops passed the area where the uprising was supposedly taking place, Cyrus revealed the true mission: kill his brother King Artaxerxes II and become king of the Persian Empire. The Greeks continued and ended up fighting the Persian forces on the plain of Cunaxa (not far from current-day Baghdad).
The Greek forces easily broke Artaxerxes’ troops, but at a decisive moment a brash Cyrus saw his brother and wildly charged him. Cyrus was killed and former Persian friends quickly turned against the Greeks. Stranded in a hostile country without supplies, the Greeks traveled 1,500 miles north to the Black Sea over the next nine months (the so-called “March of the 10,000"). When Cyrus' general asked them to lay down their arms, the Greeks responded “We have nothing of value left to us other than our weapons and our courage: if we keep our weapons we think we would be able to use our courage.” Harassed the entire trip, their success through the harsh weather with no supplies and against numerous enemies comprises the bulk of the story.
Xenophon was one of the generals chosen to lead the Greeks home and wrote about the experience years later. He refers to himself in the third person (the book was released anonymously) and he details the democratic approach the troops took in successfully surviving the ordeal. Compared to Herodotus and Thucydides, Xenophon is a simplistic writer only relaying what happened. Yet his book has shown influence over the years lacking in the others. Much of this is due to the Anabasis being a required text for Greek courses (much more popular—and required—in the 18th and 19th centuries than now).
But there are lessons to be drawn from the example of the 10,000 as well as from their speeches during deliberations. Their example of voting on important decision, pooling resources, and developing new tactics on the fly have resonated over the years. Their cry of “Thalatta! Thalatta!” (The sea! The sea!) when they glimpsed the Black Sea has been used as an allusion in many adventure stories once an impossible ordeal has been completed. The book I’m currently reading compiles and examines an exhaustive list of such allusions.
No financial lessons here, other than the importance of paying your troops what you promise them (the King of Thrace tried to stiff the Greeks toward the end of the book, with bad results). Just a continuation on my journey to read ancient history and literature, which I hope you don’t mind me relaying.
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9:47 AM
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