NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Anabasis (Xenophon)

Anabasis Aνάβασις is the most famous work of the Greek writer Xenophon. The journey it narrates is his best known accomplishment. Image File history File links The_Persian_Expedition. ... Image File history File links The_Persian_Expedition. ... Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , c. ...

Xenophon accompanied the Ten Thousand, a large army of Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Younger, who intended to seize the throne of Persia from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Though Cyrus' army was victorious in a battle at Cunaxa in Babylon, Cyrus himself was killed in battle and the expedition rendered moot. Stranded deep in enemy territory, the Spartan general Clearchus and most of the other Greek generals were subsequently killed or captured by treachery on the part of the Persian satrap Tissaphernes. Xenophon played an instrumental role in encouraging the Greek army of 10,000 to march north to the Black Sea. Now abandoned in the middle of the hostile Anatolian plateau, without communications and supplies other than what they could obtain by force as they went, the 10,000 had to fight their way northward, making ad hoc decisions as to their destiny. Ultimately this "marching republic" managed to reach the shores of the Black Sea, a destination they greeted with their famous cry of joyous exultation: "thalatta, thalatta" (Greek: the sea, the sea!). "The sea" meant that they were at last able to communicate their position and buy board on the merchant ships that would bring them back to Greece, and safety. This is the story Xenophon relates in this book. The Ten Thousand were a group of mercenary units, mainly Greek, drawn up by Cyrus the Younger to attempt to wrest the throne of the Persian Empire from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Their march to the Battle of Cunaxa and back to Greece (401 BC-399 BC) was recorded by... A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict and is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that... Cyrus the Younger, son of Darius II and Parysatis, was a Persian prince and general. ... The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the old Persian homeland, and at times extending into central and mid-east Asia. ... Artaxerxes II (c. ... The Battle of Cunaxa was fought in 401 BC between Cyrus the Younger and his elder brother Arsaces, who had seized the Persian throne as Artaxerxes II in 404 BC. Cyrus gathered an army of Greek mercenaries under the Spartan general Clearchus, and met Artaxerxes at Cunaxa on the left... Babylon was an ancient city in Mesopotamia (modern Al Hillah, Iraq), the ruins of which can be found in present-day Babil Province, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Baghdad. ... Clearchus (Greek: ÎšÎ»ÎÎ±ÏÏ‡Î¿Ï‚), the son of Rhamphias, was a Spartan general and mercenary. ... Tissaphernes (Pers. ... NASA satelite image of the Black Sea Map of the Black Sea The Black Sea is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Anatolia that is actually a distant arm of the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Mediterranean Sea. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... NASA satelite image of the Black Sea Map of the Black Sea The Black Sea is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Anatolia that is actually a distant arm of the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Mediterranean Sea. ...

The Greek term anabasis referred to an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. The term katabasis referred to a trip from the interior to the coast. Since most of Xenophon's narrative is taken up with the march from the interior of Babylon to the Black Sea, the title is something of a misnomer. Socrates makes a cameo appearance when Xenophon asks whether he ought to accompany the expedition. The short episode demonstrates the reverence of Socrates for the Oracle of Delphi. Socrates (Greek: , invariably anglicized as , SÇ’cratÄ“s; circa 470â€“399 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher who is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy. ... The word Sibyl comes (via Latin) from the ancient Greek word sibylla, meaning prophetess. ...

Traditionally Anabasis is one of the first unabridged texts studied by students of classical Greek due to its clear and unadorned style; similar to Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico for Latin students. One of the best and most easily found translations is Rex Warner's The Persian Expedition. The Anabasis was the (loosely-adapted) basis for Sol Yurick's novel The Warriors, which was later adapted into a 1979 cult movie of the same name. Gaius Julius Caesar[1] (Latin pronunciation ; English pronunciation ; July 12 or July 13, 100 BC â€“ March 15, 44 BC), often simply referred to as Julius Caesar, was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in world history. ... An 18th century edition of Commentarii de Bello Gallico Commentarii de Bello Gallico (literally Commentaries on the Gallic War in Latin) is an account written by Julius Caesar about his nine years of war in Gaul. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Rex Warner (March 9, 1905 - June 24, 1986) was an English classicist, writer and translator. ... Sol Yurick wrote the novel that inspired the 1979 film, The Warriors. ... The Warriors is a 1979 film directed by Walter Hill and based on the 1965 novel by Sol Yurick. ... For the song by The Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ...

In some translations, Anabasis is known as "The March of the Ten Thousand" or "The March Up Country".

See also