The Anabasis of Cyrus / Edition 1

by Xenophon, Wayne Ambler, Eric Buzzetti

Overview

An excellent book for anyone interested in Ancient Greek warfare, or just a rattling good tale.― The NYMAS Review

One of the foundational works of military history and political philosophy, and an inspiration for Alexander the Great, the Anabasis of Cyrus recounts the epic story of the Ten Thousand, a band of Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Younger to overthrow his brother, Artaxerxes, king of Persia and the most powerful man on earth. It shows how Cyrus' army was assembled covertly and led from the coast of Asia Minor all the way to Babylon; how the Greeks held the field against a superior Persian force; how Cyrus was killed, leaving the Greeks stranded deep within enemy territory; and how many of them overcame countless dangers and found their way back to Greece.

Their remarkable success was due especially to the wily and decisive leadership of Xenophon himself, a student of Socrates who had joined the Ten Thousand and, after most of the Greek generals had been murdered, rallied the despondent Greeks, won a position of leadership, and guided them wisely through myriad obstacles.

In this new translation of the Anabasis, Wayne Ambler achieves a masterful combination of liveliness and a fidelity to the original uncommon in other versions. Accompanying Ambler's translation is a penetrating interpretive essay by Eric Buzzetti, one that shows Xenophon to be an author who wove a philosophic narrative into his dramatic tale.

The translation and interpretive essay encourage renewed study of the Anabasis as a work of political philosophy. They also celebrate its high adventure and its hero's adroit decision-making under the most pressing circumstances.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801489990
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	01/03/2008
Series:	Agora Editions
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Wayne Ambler is Associate Professor and Director of the Herbst Program of Humanities at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Eric Buzzetti is Associate Professor in the Liberal Arts College of Concordia University, Montreal.

Table of Contents

Translator's Preface     vii
Introduction: The Political Life and the Socratic Education   Eric Buzzetti     1
Chapters 1-10     41
Chapters 1-6     73
Chapters 1-5     97
Chapters 1-8     121
Chapters 1-8     151
Chapters 1-6     179
Chapters 1-8     203
Geographical Note     241
Historical Note     243
Glossary     245
Notes     253
Index     275

What People are Saying About This

Peter Ahrensdorf

This is a superb translation of a timeless classic of political philosophy. The Anabasis is the most important writing of the political philosopher Xenophon and any introductory or advanced study of the history of political theory must give prominence to this work. So rich is the Anabasis that it will naturally command the interest of scholars and students of political and military history, political leadership, military science, and classics.

Harvey C. Mansfield

'In the army there was a certain Xenophon...' Here is a new translation of Xenophon's most beautiful work, done for the first time with the care due to its political acuteness and its philosophical importance. Wayne Ambler and Eric Buzzetti invite us to ponder and enjoy Xenophon's third-person, autobiographical masterpiece.

Editorial Reviews

An excellent book for anyone interested in Ancient Greek warfare, or just a rattling good tale.

-- "The NYMAS Review"

From the Publisher

"This is a superb translation of a timeless classic of political philosophy. The Anabasis is the most important writing of the political philosopher Xenophon and any introductory or advanced study of the history of political theory must give prominence to this work. So rich is the Anabasis that it will naturally command the interest of scholars and students of political and military history, political leadership, military science, and classics."

Peter Ahrensdorf

"'In the army there was a certain Xenophon...' Here is a new translation of Xenophon's most beautiful work, done for the first time with the care due to its political acuteness and its philosophical importance. Wayne Ambler and Eric Buzzetti invite us to ponder and enjoy Xenophon's third-person, autobiographical masterpiece."

Harvey C. Mansfield

An excellent book for anyone interested in Ancient Greek warfare, or just a rattling good tale.

The NYMAS Review