Xenophon

Kathleen Conn (Independent Scholar - Europe)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Born in Athens between 431 and 427 BCE, at the start of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta (431 to 404 BCE), Xenophon lived a life as tumultuous and full of contrast as his written works. Having grown up during the most flagrant excesses of the Athenian democracy, he was an admirer of Sparta and a critic of rule by the demos. A cavalryman for Athens around 409, he later applied the principles of military command learned during brutal combat to history, biography, education, economics and philosophy. Having left Athens to fight with a mercenary army in Persia, he devoted himself to writing in the sublime style of Plato's Academy. He is the first extant prose writer who demonstrates a clear awareness of his own methods on a wide range of closely delimited subjects: his works…

2915 words

Citation: Conn, Kathleen. "Xenophon". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 March 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4824, accessed 19 March 2024.]

4824 Xenophon 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.