Who Was Xenophon? A Guide to Xenophon’s Life and Works

Xenophon (circa 430–354 BCE), also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a student of Socrates, a military and political leader, and a writer on philosophical subjects. His histories of warfare, memoirs, philosophical commentaries, and descriptions of the various societies in which he lived were praised in his day for their eloquence. Today, his writing serves as a historical account of Greek antiquity.

As with any figure from antiquity, the record of Xenophon’s life is somewhat ambiguous, but his writing oeuvre and political career offer insight into his life:

• Early years: Historians believe Xenophon was born around 430 BCE in Erchia, a deme of Athens. His father, Gryllus, was the owner of a prosperous country estate. Xenophon may have witnessed critical events in Greek history during his formative years, including Alcibiades’s return to Athens in 407 BCE and the overthrow of the Thirty Tyrants in 403 BCE.
• Education: Xenophon was a student and close associate of Socrates. Xenophon began recording detailed accounts of his life around the time he was thirty years old.
• Cyrus’s expedition: Xenophon was a member of a mercenary army called the Ten Thousand, serving on an expedition into Asia minor under the Persian King Cyrus the Younger. The expedition failed to capture Babylon. After retreating from the Persian Army after the Battle of Cunaxa, Xenophon roused the exhausted and disheartened mercenaries to complete their journey home. He later recorded the story in great detail in Anabasis (430–354 BCE).
• Return to Greece: Upon his return to Greek territory, Xenophon continued his military career. He spent much of his life in Sparta, possibly because of a falling out with Athenian leaders that led to an exile. This would explain his apparent loyalties to the primary Greek polity that opposed this native Athens. He was granted an estate in Scillus (part of Elis), near Olympia, where he likely wrote most of his collected works. After the Battle of Leuctra (371 BCE), wherein Sparta suffered a devastating blow, Xenophon may have relocated to Corinth.
• Death: At the time of Xenophon’s death around 354 BCE, he was a famous and widely celebrated statesman and political philosopher, and his military exploits were held in high regard.

Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher and scholar from Athens and a founding figure in the history of Western philosophy. Socrates did not record his own ideas, so the two principal sources on his work are Plato and Xenophon, whose accounts differ, sometimes significantly. Xenophon was both a student and a friend of Socrates, and his writings, which include Socratic dialogues and defenses, paint a rich portrait of the elder philosopher and his ideas.

One of the crucial episodes in Socrates’s life was his trial before the Anthenian authorities, after which he was condemned to death. According to Xenopon, Socrates did not prepare an adequate defense and sought his death sentence. Xenophon’s theory stipulates that Socrates accepted his fate to make a point about the importance of ethical behavior.

Xenophon’s works were not formally published, so not all of the composition dates are known. Some of the most important written pieces by Xenophon include:

1. 1. Anabasis: Xenophon's Anabasis—also known as The Expedition of Cyrus, The Persian Expedition, or The March Up Country—is part autobiography, part history, and part treatise on military strategy and tactics. It covers the campaign and return home of the Ten Thousand, Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Great to depose his brother, King Artaxerxes II of Persia.
2. 2. Cyropaedia: Cyropaedia, also known as The Education of Cyrus, is Xenophon’s account of the life of Cyrus the Great, founder of the first Persian empire. Some historians refute the historical integrity of this work; it is unclear if Xenophon meant for the writing to be a historical account or an embellished portrait to exemplify an ideal ruler.
3. 3. Hellenica: Hellenica is a history of Greece from the years 411 to 362 BCE. It is written as a continuation of Thucydides’s The History of the Peloponnesian War, another major source of Greek history. Xenophon’s piece chronicles the last seven years of the Peloponnesian War, ending with the Second Battle of Mantinea.
4. 4. Agesilaus: One of the earliest examples of a written biography, Agesilaus chronicles the life of the Spartan King Agesilaus II. Xenophon’s close association with Sparta was likely due partly to his friendship with Agesilaus II—Xenophon may have fought under Agesilaus II, then a Spartan General, in the Battle of Coronea.
5. 5. Polity of the Lacedaemonians: Much of what is known today about Spartan society comes from Xenophon’s firsthand account. Xenophon’s writing details the culture, social organization, and politics of Sparta.
6. 6. The Apology: The Apology, also known as Apology of Socrates to the Jury, is a dialogue chronicling Socrates’s presentation to the jury at the trial that resulted in his killing. Xenophon’s other Socratic works include The Memorabilia, The Symposium, and The Oeconomicus, which all defend Socrates’ ideas, provide an account of his famous trial, or comprise philosophical works in the form of dialogues.

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