Anabasis, by Xenophon

Reading “Anabasis”, by Xenophon, the story of the Ten Thousand. If you’re not familiar with it, around 400 BC Cyrus the Younger of the Persian Empire raised an army to depose his brother, King Artaxerxes. Ten thousand Greek mercenaries marched with Cyrus’s army, and won a victory over Artaxerxes at the Battle of Cunaxa. Unfortunately Cyrus, who was in all other respects quite clever, stupidly went into battle without his helmet, caught a spear to the face, and that was the end of Cyrus. So now the Ten Thousand were stranded in hostile territory, and to make matters worse, the Persians murdered their officers under a false pledge of safe conduct.

But the Ten Thousand weren’t finished yet. They elected new officers, Xenophon among them, and started on the march home.

This quote made me laugh:

“After him Xenophon stood up. He had put on the best-looking uniform that he could, thinking that, if the gods granted victory, victory deserved the best-looking armour, or if he was to die, then it was right for him to put on his best clothes and be wearing them when he met his death.”

I like Xenophon – he’s got verve and style. Of course, he’s writing the book, so I suspect he’s making himself look good, and perhaps overestimating the role he played. But, then, no one ever wrote a memoir entitled “Why I Suck And Our Misfortunes Were My Fault.”

-JM