XENOPHON. zkn'6-fOn, ancient Greek his torian and general: b. Athens, about 434 s.c.; d Corinth, about 355 s.c. He lived during a period in which the greatest political and intel lectual excitement existed at Athens, and in which the most distinguished men. of whom he was one, appeared on the stage. Xenophon was a disciple of Socrates. He was said to have fought with his teacher in the Peloponnesian war, and to have had his life saved by Socrates in the battle of Delium (424 a.c.), but this is not now accepted. When the Persian prince, Cyrus the Younger contended with his elder brother Artaxerxes Memnon for the throne, the I acesizmonians sent him auxiliaries, among whom Xenophon served as a volunteer. Cyrus was defeated and lost his life on the field of Cunaxa (401 Lc.). The principal officers of the auxiliary army !lasing been likewise killed in battle, or taken prisoners by artifice, and then put to death, Xenophon was apparently selected to command the Greek forces, 10,000 men strong. They were in a most critical situation, in the midst of a hostile country without cav alry, surrounded by enemies and innumerable difficulties; hut Xenophon was able to inspire them with confidence, to repress insubordina tion, and to lead them in their return march of 1.500 miles to the Black Sea. Xenophcrn himself has described this retreat, and at the same time the whole expedition of the younger Cyrus, in his 'Anabasis,' the most famous of military narratis es. There is no means of verifying the statements of this work. On their arrival at Chrysopolis (opposite Byzantium) a number of the troops, with Xenophon at their head, en tered the service of Seethes, king of Thrace. Later, Xenophon joined the Spartan general Thimbron or Thibrou, who was then conduct ing the war against the Persian satraps. Phar naharus and Ti•saphernes. There is no reason to believe that Xenophon left Asia Minor before IN, when he returned to Greece with Agesilaus, king of Sparta, after his expedition against the Persians. In that yi ar he fought on the side of the Spartans against the Athenians at Coro neia. As a consequence he was found guilty of high treason and exiled. After that he settled at Scillus, a small town in the neighborhood of Olympia, in Ells. In this solitary retreat he dedicated his time to literary pursuits; and as he had acquired riches in his Asiatic expedi tions, he began to adorn the country which sur rounded SoIlus. He built a magnificent temple
to Artemis in imitation of that of Ephesus, and spent part of his time in rural employments, or in hunting in the woods and mountains. He does not appear ever to have returned to Athens, although the sentence of banishment passed on him was afterward repealed. He remained for about 20 years at &illus. hut was ultimately expelled from it (371 ac.) by the Eleans. Thereupon he retired to Corinth, where he died. Besides the 'Anahasis,' Xenophon wrote the 'Apomnemoneumata,' more commonly known as the 'Memorabilia Socratis,' in which there is no doubt that we have a faithful representation of the moral and practical side of the Socratic although he makes no attempt at inter preting its metaphysical aspects; the "Cyropse dia,' in which, under the guise of a life of Cyrus the Elder, there is an exhibition of Xenopbon's views respecting the best form and methods of government; the Symposium' (Banquet), in which Socrates is brought before us under his social aspect; the 'Hellenica' which continues the history. of Thucydides, and while open to criticism for its political bias, is nevertheless honestly written and is highly valuable as the only contemporary ac count of the period 411-362 lc.; and of several minor works on hunting, agriculture, politics :,nd the science of war, all of great interest as riving an authentic presentation of the ordinary life of the Greeks of that period. The style of Xenophon is in general a model of simplicity. The Greeks esteemed his merit as a writer so high that they called him the 'Attic bee' and the 'Attic muse.' Later criticism has found that in both vocabulary and syntax he fre quently deviates from the best Attic usage. His works have been often published separately and together. Among the best editions of the com plete works of Xenophon are those by Schneider and others (1791-1849), Sauppe (1865), and Dindorf (1875). There is a complete English translation by H. G. I)akyns, with introductions and notes (1890-93). Consult also the studies by Croiset (1873), Roquette (1884), and Lange (1900) ; Bury, J. C., 'Ancient Greek Historians' (1909); Wright, \V. C.. 'A Short History of Greek Literature' (1907).