The Persian Expedition (Penguin Classics)
by Xenophon
published
June 30th 1950
(first published 1958)
by Penguin Classics
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binding
Paperback, 384 pages
isbn
0140440070
(isbn13: 9780140440072)
description
This record of one of the most famous marches in history contains an account of the day-to-day life of ordinary men and soldiers and demonstrates how ...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 179)
Xenophon has become a bit of a fascination of mine at the moment. I’ve started reading his Socratic Conversations – which I’ll review when I finish, but am finding remarkable – and then I found this as a talking book under the title The March of the Ten Thousand. I’ve just finished listening to this. Amazing story. A group of Greek mercenaries go off to raid, rape and pillage their way through Persia, when things go awry – seriously awry. All of the leaders are killed – one aft...more
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Read in January, 1950
The story begins with a bang and immediately carries us into the expedition itself. When a Greek mercenary army attempts to help Cyrus overthrow his relative, (his brother, Artaxerxes, was the Persian King), it marches all the way to Babylon to give battle...and wins! But Cyrus is killed in the battle and the Greeks find themselves stranded. After the Greek generals are killed in a treacherous parley, the army does not disintegrate, as Artaxerxes and the Persians expect. Instead, they elect new ...more
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An adventure tale from the world of Ancient Greece. Its a well told war yarn, and the pages turn themselves...
Xenophon writes the story in the third person despite having played a key role in the events of the story. This might be a convention of the day (I have no idea), but the narrative is very much told from his perspective.
There's a pattern in the story: First, Xenophon judiciously leads his fellow soldiers through harrowing straits. Once they are safe, they turn on him. Xenoph...more
Xenophon writes the story in the third person despite having played a key role in the events of the story. This might be a convention of the day (I have no idea), but the narrative is very much told from his perspective.
There's a pattern in the story: First, Xenophon judiciously leads his fellow soldiers through harrowing straits. Once they are safe, they turn on him. Xenoph...more
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Read in August, 2008
I tried getting into this, and I just could not. It sounded interesting when I picked it up at my library: the story of a group of Greek mercenaries fighting for Cyrus as he tries to depose his king. Cyrus loses, and the Greeks are stranded in enemy territory. I think it could even make a decent movie these days. However, there is a lot of "they marched here for X miles" followed by "then they went here and there." Compared to works like Herodotus and Thucydides, which I have...more
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Xenophone said many lies in this book about persian and greek military.If persian was so waste that greek military beat them in iran then how did they fire athen?
Really anabasis was the iranian fight between two brothers(Artakhshir and Kourosh two second Dariuosh shah of Hakhamaneshi's sons)
Kourosh was the sad because of his brother kingdom so bought many greek as a solodier and attack to Iran and his brother.really greek was only soldier and BARRATOR and no other things.it's true because Ir...more
Really anabasis was the iranian fight between two brothers(Artakhshir and Kourosh two second Dariuosh shah of Hakhamaneshi's sons)
Kourosh was the sad because of his brother kingdom so bought many greek as a solodier and attack to Iran and his brother.really greek was only soldier and BARRATOR and no other things.it's true because Ir...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
Clovis, Josiah
Xenophon left Athens and joined an army of ten thousand Greeks led by Cyrus against the Persian king, Artaxerxes, brother of Cyrus. They succeed, but Cyrus is killed. Upon his death it is up to Xenophon to return the warriors from Babylon to Athens. These are his stories, both of the battles and the 'march up country' (aka, Anabasis).
Xenophon's descriptions of the battles, the warriors, home lives, politics, etc. are all incredibly detailed. He speaks of himself in the third person, lend...more
Xenophon's descriptions of the battles, the warriors, home lives, politics, etc. are all incredibly detailed. He speaks of himself in the third person, lend...more
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Read in August, 2008
Wow...Xenophon was apparently single-handedly to thank for the Greeks making their way out of Persia. Any speech by anyone else in the book is about a paragraph long...while he writes himself responding in 10 minute monologues. It reads more like what someone wishes they could have said the day *after* a confrontation.
All in all, my main reason for reading this is because I knew it was the basis for the classic 80s movie 'The Warriors.' Personally, I like the Warriors better.
All in all, my main reason for reading this is because I knew it was the basis for the classic 80s movie 'The Warriors.' Personally, I like the Warriors better.
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An enduring classic of free people joining together to solve a great problem -- in this case how to escape ancient Mesopotamia! Xenophon is a Spartan sympathizer who came of age after Athens defeat in the Pelopponesian War, yet his leadership was very Athenian. Every major strategic decision, the choice of officers and the mode of discipline were decided by a vote of the men, the fabled Ten Thousand. Read it for your own inspiration.
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Xenophon again, this time with his account of the non-education of Cyrus. The Greeks didn't do too well in other words. The Education of Cyrus is another work by Xenophon. It's another weak pun just above in case anyone wondered.
This is largely autobiographical as Xenophon himself was a part of the expedition; whether as its leader or otherwise is still, by some accounts, a hot topic in the academic world.
This is largely autobiographical as Xenophon himself was a part of the expedition; whether as its leader or otherwise is still, by some accounts, a hot topic in the academic world.
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Read in March, 2002
I read this, not as a history book, but as a Greek translation project. What's interesting is that the story shows the strength of the Democratic way of operating. No other army would have remained in force after their leaders were assassinated. And yet the Greeks managed to do it.
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After I read the Anabasis (the March Upcountry), I almost immediately began writing my first novel based on the events of the first dozen pages. Xenophon's prose is sweet, his story captivating and I highly recommend it for any reader.
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recommended to Stephanie by:
Dr Steve Johnstone
recommends it for: all my peeps.
recommends it for: all my peeps.
This book is all about Xenophon!! Oh yeah, and the Persian Expedition...It was pretty good, I have a lot of comments/ideas about this book--too many to list here:^) If you are really interested...give me a buzz!
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Read in September, 2008
I finished Xenophon’s, The Persian Expedition. The work had been characterized to me in two ways: first, it was described as having been written in “easy” Greek, often used by British schoolboys as their primer when learning the Greek language, and whereas I did not read it in its original language I was nonetheless struck by its simple, indeed at times almost primitive, syntax, and I could not help but compare it with Caesar’s history, The Gallic Wars, often described in...more
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Awesome account of a military expedition gone terribly wrong from the world's first grumpy tourist. Xenophon cared so little for Persia and Persians that we take "Xenophobia" from his name.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in January, 2007
You can hear the war drums as you read.
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Amazing is the only word for this story about a band of Greek mercenaries stranded in modern-day Iraq who must walk and fight their way back home through all sorts of hostiles. I wish I could find this in hardcover as I would pay any price for it. Great book.
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