431?-354? B.C.

Greek Soldier and Historian

Xenophon is best known for writing the Anabasis. It recounts the details of Cyrus the Younger's (423?-401 B.C.) Persian campaign and the role Xenophon played in leading his Greek mercenaries back to the Mediterranean after Cyrus's death. Xenophon wrote on a wide range of topics, and his prose was greatly admired in antiquity and strongly influenced Latin literature.

Born around 431 B.C. to the wealthy Athenian aristocrat Gryllus, Xenophon came of age during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.). He joined the intellectual circle that gathered about Socrates (470?-399 B.C.) and sympathized with their critical attitude towards Athenian democracy. He supported the short-lived oligarchic regimes of the Council of 400 (411 B.C.) and the Thirty Tyrants (404-403 B.C.). When Thracybulus reestablished democracy in Athens, Xenophon became disillusioned and chose to seek his destiny elsewhere.

In 401 B.C. Xenophon joined...