All text, translations, and maps copyrighted by Lawrence Douglas Ringer. Last modified on: 31-October-2015.
If you encounter a word or spelling with which you are unfamiliar, be sure to check the glossaries (see the links on the right under Reference Aids).
Xenophon (ca. 430–354 BCE) of Athens was a noted author and general. Due to his popularity in antiquity and the intervening millennia, Xenophon’s entire oeuvre has fortunately survived intact. For modern readers, Xenophon is most well known for his Anabasis (Going Up, i.e. marching up country from the coast), an account of the unsuccessful rebellion of the Persian prince Cyrus the Younger and the ensuing so-called ‘March of the Ten Thousand’ in which Cyrus’ Greek mercenaries trudged home to Greece through challenging adversity. The Anabasis was written in the third person, but it was in effect an autobiographical work as Xenophon participated in the expedition. For modern historians, Xenophon’s Hellēnika is hugely important as a history of his own times continuing on where the great Athenian historian Thoukydides left off. Xenophon was a good historian yet all of his historical works were severely marred by his personal biases in favour of Lakedaimon (Sparta), autocratic rulers, and wealthy aristocrats. Xenophon, like many other aristocratic writers, tellingly referred to his own class as the beltistoi (most excellent), gnōrimoi (distinguished), kaloi kagathoi (beautiful/noble well-born), and kratistoi (strongest, most excellent). Amongst his many other works were two treatises on cavalry: the Hipparkhikos (For the Cavalry Commander) and the Peri Hippikēs (On Horsemanship). Before discussing Xenophon’s observations on ancient cavalry, the following historical background of Xenophon’s long and eventful life will hopefully be enlightening. Much of what follows is based upon Xenophon’s Hellēnika and Anabasis.
XENOPHON’S CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH
The Athenian Xenophon, son of Gryllos, was evidently born in ca. 430 BCE at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War (ca. 431–404 BCE), the monumental conflict between democratic Athens and totalitarian Lakedaimon (Sparta). The war would have dominated Xenophon’s entire childhood and youth.
The protracted Peloponnesian War finally came to an end after the Athenian navy was destroyed at Aigospotamoi in the Hellespont in 405 BCE. The victor in this decisive naval battle was the Lakedaimonian (Spartan) admiral Lysander, who apparently caught the Athenian ships on the beach with their crews dispersed. Out of a fleet of 180 Athenian triremes, only 9 ships escaped and only one of these—the elite state trireme Paralos—returned to Athens with the devastating news. Blockaded both by land and by sea and with many of its citizens dying of famine, Athens was forced to surrender in early 404 BCE. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.1.20–2.2.23; Diodoros. 13.105–107)
TH BLOODY RULE OF THE OLIGARCHS IN ATHENS
Despising democracy, the victorious Lakedaimonian (Spartan) Lysander encouraged the formation of an oligarchical regime in Athens known as the Thirty. Initially, the most prominent member of the Thirty was the moderate oligarch Theramenes, a leading Athenian politician and general who had negotiated the terms of Athens’ surrender. However, the ultraconservative Athenian oligarch Kritias, who years before had been exiled by the democrats, soon emerged as the foremost leader of the Thirty. The oligarchs’ most ardent supporters were the Three Thousand. This privileged group consisted of the 3,000 wealthiest Athenians and constituted the official citizen body under the regime of the Thirty. It was composed at the top level by the aristocratic Athenian hippeis (cavalrymen, knights) and at the middle level and below by well-to-do hoplites (heavy infantrymen). With the support of the Three Thousand as well as the backing of a Lakonian garrison in the Acropolis, the oligarchs murdered hundreds if not thousands of their political enemies. Incidentally, the Lakonian garrison had been sent by Lysander at the request of the Thirty. It numbered 700 soldiers—likely all Peloponnesian mercenaries—under the command of Kallibios as harmost (governor). (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.2.16–2.3.2, 2.3.11–20, 2.3.28; Diodoros. 14.3.1–14.4.4; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 34.3–36.1–2, 37.2, 38.2)
The contemporary Athenian Kleokritos, the herald of the initiates [of the Eleusinian Mysteries], claimed that “the impious Thirty, for the sake of their own profit, killed almost more Athenians in eight months than all of the Peloponnesians had in ten years of making war”. This was most assuredly a gross exaggeration. A number of later Athenian writers stated that the Thirty put to death more than 1,500 Athenian citizens without fair trials.[1] As a result of their bloody, tyrannical rule, the oligarchs justifiably earned the nickname of the Thirty Tyrants.[2] The oligarchs implicated others in their crimes by ordering them to assist in the quasi-legal exile, robbery, and murder of their fellow citizens. Those who refused to collaborate risked becoming victims themselves. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.4.20–21, 2.3.12, 2.3.14–17, 2.3.21–22, 2.3.39–40, 2.3.43; Diodoros. 14.4.4, 14.5.5–14.5.7; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 35.4)
The only man known to have defied the Thirty Tyrants and survive unscathed was the elderly philosopher Sokrates (470/469–399 BCE). In defiance of the Thirty’s orders, Sokrates refused to participate in the arrest and execution of a fellow citizen named Leon the Salaminian. Sokrates was spared no doubt because one of his former students was none other than Kritias, the most powerful member of the Thirty. Sadly, Leon was not saved by Sokrates’ brave act of disobedience as others were willing to participate in his murder. (Plato. Defense of Sokrates 32c-d; Plato. Letters 7.324e–325a; Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.3.39; Andokides. Concerning the Mysteries 1.94)
As the number of the slain mounted, the moderate oligarch Theramenes made the mistake of questioning the wisdom of this reign of terror. In a meeting of the Athenian Boulē (Council, traditionally consisting of 500 citizens above the age of 30), Kritias summarily struck Theramenes’ name from the register of the Three Thousand—thereby stripping him of all rights as a citizen—and then ordered his execution. Kritias had placed men who were visibly armed with daggers inside the Bouleutērion (Council Chamber) and outside had placed an armed guard, undoubtedly members of the Lakonian garrison. Consequently, no one—other than Theramenes himself—dared to object and the order was promptly carried out![3] (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.3.15–56; Diodoros. 14.4.5–14.5.5; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 37)
ATHENIAN POPULAR UPRISING AGAINST THE OLIGARCHS
It was not long before the oppressive and bloody rule of the Thirty Tyrants provoked a popular uprising. During the winter of 404–403 BCE, the democratic Athenian leader Thrasyboulos[4] crossed the border from Thebes—where he had been residing in exile—into Attica. With around 70 companions, he seized the small Attic border fort of Phyle and began to raise an army of supporters. During the Peloponnesian War, Thrasyboulos had taken a prominent role in opposing the oligarchic coup of 411 BCE in Athens and subsequently had enjoyed a successful career as a general. Despite being wealthy, Thrasyboulos was a leading democrat and had fled or had been exiled by the Thirty Tyrants apparently at the very beginning of their reign before the executions had emerged into full swing. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.3.42, 2.3.44, 2.4.1–7; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 37.1)
Having quickly raised a small force numbering about 1,000 men, Thrasyboulos surprised the oligarchs by occupying the Athenian port of Peiraieus at night. The oligarchs had forced many of their opponents to withdraw from Athens and to live in Peiraieus, so the port was undoubtedly a welcoming recruiting ground for the democrats. When the oligarchs promptly led their larger and much better equipped army against him, Thrasyboulos took up a defensive position on the hill of Mounykhia and repulsed the oligarchs’ attack. Kritias and two other oligarchs were slain in the assault. Thereupon the oligarchs’ army retreated back to Athens where the remaining Thirty Tyrants were deposed by the Three Thousand. The Thirty retired with their diehard aristocratic adherents to Eleusis, which they had prepared beforehand as a place of refuge (see below). Eleusis was the site of the famous Eleusinian Mysteries. The Mysteries were initiation rites and festivals of great antiquity celebrated every year in honour of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone. The Thirty Tyrants were replaced in Athens by a new group of oligarchs called the Ten, who had the unwavering support of many of the hippeis. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.4.10–27; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 38.1–2)
The Lakedaimonians (Spartans) intervened on the side of the Athenian oligarchs likely in the spring or early summer of 403 BCE. They first dispatched the conquering hero Lysander to Eleusis to raise a mercenary force and at the same time dispatched his brother Libys with a fleet to blockade the democrats in the port of Peiraieus. The Lakedaimonian king Pausanias[5]—who was envious of Lysander’s influence—followed shortly thereafter with a large Peloponnesian army. After some minor skirmishes with the democrats, Pausanias took the initiative in negotiating with both sides and took a surprisingly conciliatory and politically progressive approach. In rivalry with the ultraconservative Lysander, King Pausanias effected a peace settlement by which the oligarchs were to live in exile at Eleusis. The exiled oligarchs included the remaining members of the Thirty, the Ten, the Eleven (the board of executioners), and the Peiraieus’ Ten who had governed the port under the oligarchs. Those of their followers who were fearful of the democrats were directed to join the oligarchs in Eleusis, which was to constitute an autonomous and independent state. Apparently, King Pausanias realized that a wholesale slaughter and exile of the democrats would have been necessary in order to secure the rule of the oligarchs and it would seem that—unlike Lysander—Pausanias was unwilling to sanction that action. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.4.28–42; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 38–39)
THE RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY IN ATHENS
Thereafter, the archonship of Eukleides (summer 403 to summer 402 BCE) marked a watershed moment in Athenian history. The democrats required all citizens to swear a binding oath to uphold a law that forbade the prosecution of anyone for a capital crime committed prior to Eukleides’ archonship. The lone exception was for a homicide committed by an offender’s own hand or, in other words, a killing that was not part of a quasi-legal execution. It was in effect a general amnesty for the crimes committed by the many Athenians who had collaborated with the oligarchs. This amnesty was even extended to the oligarchs themselves on the condition that they agreed to submit to an euthyna or rendering of their accounts in a public examination, which was traditional for Athenian officials at the expiration of their terms of office. (Andokides. Concerning the Mysteries 1.87–99; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 39–40; Aiskhines. On the Dishonest Embassy 2.176)
Nonetheless, in the archonship of Xenainetos (summer 401 to summer 400 BCE), it was learned that the oligarchs in Eleusis were hiring foreign mercenaries undoubtedly for the purposes of staging a coup. The democrats marched their full forces to Eleusis and siezed and executed the oligarchic generals for plotting to overthrow the democratic government of Athens. As for the oligarchs’ supporters, the democrats sent their relatives and friends to persuade them that the offer of amnesty was genuine. They succeeded and the oligarchic haven of Eleusis was forthwith dissolved and reunited with the rest of the Athenian state. Democracy was thereby securely restored in Athens and without a bloodbath of revenge! This reconciliation lasted for the lifetimes of those involved. This was an incredible achievement for which Thrasyboulos and his fellow democrats were and are not even now properly celebrated. This is due to the fact that most ancient Greek writers were aristocrats—many with oligarchical sympathies—who had no love for democracy. For example, Aristotle[6] barely even mentioned Thrasyboulos except to lambaste him for proposing to grant Athenian citizenship to everyone—including slaves!—who had assembled in Peiraieus to oppose the oligarchs. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.4.43; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 40)
XENOPHON AND PLATO DURING THE OLIGARCHS’ REIGN OF TERROR
Xenophon (ca. 430–354 BCE) was a young man in his mid or late twenties during the oligarchs’ reign of terror. He was clearly a member of the Athenian hippeis (cavalry, knights) class with obvious oligarchical political views. As a young adult, Xenophon had become a dedicated pupil of the philosopher Sokrates. What role Xenophon played during the last years of the Peloponnesian War and during the bloody rule of the Athenian oligarchs is unknown.[7]
Incidentally, the eminent philosopher Plato (ca. 428/427–348/347 BCE) was a contemporary of Xenophon with a similiar background. Plato was apparently a few years younger than Xenophon and was also a pupil of Sokrates. Plato was the scion of an illustrious aristocratic family in Athens. His older kinsmen Kritias[8] and Kharmides[9] were both leaders of the oligarchy of 404 BCE and both men were killed at the battle of Mounykhia. Years later, Plato wrote that as a young man he first became interested in participating in politics during the rule of the Thirty. However, he soon became disgusted by their anosia erga (unholy acts) and kakai (wickedness) but, rather than oppose the Thirty Tyrants, Plato simply withdrew from public service. (Plato. Letters 7.324b–325a)
Based on their age and wealth, both Xenophon and Plato undoubtedly served in the Athenian cavalry during the rule of the Thirty Tyrants.[10] On one occasion, the Thirty asked the hippeis (cavalrymen) to arrest the Athenian citizens of Eleusis and bring them to Athens. There the hippeis and hoplites of the Three Thousand were instructed to condemn the Eleusinians to death as the oligarchs wished to make Eleusis into a haven for themselves. The Three Thousand cast their votes—in the form of psēphoi (pebbles)—under the watchful eyes of the armed Lakonian guard and consequently approved the motion. On another occasion, while patroling the countryside, the Athenian hippeis rounded up a group of Athenians from Aixone. This was after the victory of the democrats at Mounykhia and apparently the Aixoneans were democratic supporters who were travelling to their farms for provisions. The hipparch Lysimakhos ordered his men to cut the throats of their captives. Despite the pleas of their victims and—according to Xenophon—despite the qualms of many of the hippeis, they nonetheless carried out this butchery of their fellow citizens. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.4.8–10, 2.4.26)
It would be interesting—to put it mildly—to know if Xenophon and Plato participated in these and other atrocities. Both men were doubtlessly members of the hippeis class as well as members of the Three Thousand, so it is highly likely that they did collaborate with the oligarchs. Unlike the exceptional case of Sokrates, there is no record of either Xenophon or Plato defying the oligarchs. Regrettably, we do not know if either man was a member of the oligarchic faction that occupied Eleusis after the fall of the Thirty or that resided in the autonomous oligarchical state at Eleusis after the settlement of King Pausanias. Be that as it may, it was because of such wide spread war crimes as those described above that the democrats found it necessary to grant a general amnesty to all except to the oligarchy’s leaders. Both Xenophon and Plato would have been included in this generous pardon. Nevertheless, shortly afterwards Xenophon left Athens and did not return for several decades. Following the shocking and iniquitous execution of Sokrates in 399 BCE, Plato also left Athens and travelled extensively for roughly a decade. (Plato. Letters 7.324a; Diogenes Laertios. 3.6, 3.18–23)
GO TO PART TWO
[1]↩ Isokrates (Areopagitikos 7.67, Against Lokhitos 20.11) stated that the Thirty condemned to death 1,500 citizens akritos (without a trial). According to Aiskhines (Against Ktesiphon 3.235), the Thirty executed pleious (more than) 1,500 citizens akritos. Aristotle (Constitution of the Athenians 35.4) stated that “ouk elattous (not less than) 1,500 were done away with”. This figure of 1,500 may not have included non-citizens nor those slain by the post-Thirty oligarchs. Xenophon (Hellēnika 2.4.8–10) wrote that the Thirty executed the men of Eleusis, which was a substantial town. According to Lysias (Against Eratosthenes 12.52, Against Agoratus 13.44), the Thirty slew 300 citizens from Eleusis and Salamis. Diodoros (14.32.4) stated that the Thirty alleged that the Eleusinians and Salaminians were sympathic to the exiles and consequently slew every one of them!
[2]↩ It is unclear when exactly the Thirty became known as the Thirty Tyrants.
[3]↩ According to Diodoros (14.5.2–14.5.3), Sokrates attempted to physically intervene to prevent Theramenes from being dragged from the altar of Hestia Boulaia (the goddess Hestia of the Council). However, no contemporary writer such as Plato or Xenophon mentioned this act of bravery on the part of Sokrates. The arrest took place during a meeting of the Boulē (Council). Though Sokrates had been a member of the Boulē in 406 BCE under the democracy, it is highly unlikely that Sokrates—a lowly stonecutter—was a member of this elite body under the oligarchs nor even a member of the wealthy Three Thousand. However, assuming for the moment that Sokrates had been a member of the Three Thousand and of the Boulē under the Thirty, his refusal to collaborate in Leon’s murder—which according to Xenophon (Hellēnika 2.3.39) took place prior to the execution of Theramenes—would surely have resulted in his expulsion from the Boulē.
[4]↩ Together the oligarch Theramenes and the democrat Thrasyboulos shared an intimate connection with a famous incident near the end of the Peloponnesian War. In 406 BCE, the Athenians manned 110 triremes to sail to the rescue of the Athenian stratēgos Konon, who was being blockaded in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. In this emergency, even large numbers of hippeis (cavalrymen)—perhaps including a young Xenophon—served in the fleet doubtlessly as marines. The hastily assembled fleet was commanded by eight stratēgoi (generals, a term that the Athenians applied to commanders whether on land or on sea).
This Athenian fleet trounced the Lakedaimonians (Spartans) in a naval battle off the southeast coast of Lesbos near the Arginousai islands. The Lakedaimonians lost their Nauarkhos (High Admiral) Kallikratidas and more than 70 ships. The Athenians lost 25 ships of which only 12 were sunk. After the battle, Theramenes and Thrasyboulos—both serving as triērarkhoi (captains/ship sponsors)—were ordered along with others to rescue the Athenian crews who were in the water. They failed to do so due to a heavy storm. Meanwhile, the victorious Athenian stratēgoi and the larger part of the Athenian fleet set off to attack the 50 Lakedaimonian ships that were blockading Konon in Mytilene. However, the Lakedaimonian commander Eteonikos was forewarned of the disaster that had befallen Kallikratidas and fled before the Athenians arrived.
Back in Athens, the eight triumphant stratēgoi who had been in command at Arginousai were condemned by the Boulē (Council) and Ekklēsia (Assembly) for their failure to rescue the drowned crews. The six stratēgoi who had returned to Athens were promptly executed without fair and separate trials! Included in this number were Thrasyllos, a prominent democratic leader and successful stratēgos, and Perikles, the son of the great Athenian leader Perikles. Remarkably, both Theramenes—who had joined in denouncing the stratēgoi—and Thrasyboulos escaped scot-free! One man who had refused to sanction this witch hunt was the philosopher Sokrates, who happened that day to have been selected by lot to serve as the epistatēs (president) of the Boulē and Ekklēsia (Xenophon. Hellēnika 1.7.14–15; Plato. Defense of Sokrates 32b–32c; Xenophon. Memorial Records 1.1.18). Unfortunately, Sokrates’ procedural obstruction only served as a brief hinderance to the proceedings.
Later, the Athenians regretted their hasty reaction and condemned those who had prosecuted the victorious stratēgoi. The following year, the Athenians found themselves desperately in need of competent commanders at Aigospotamoi. Considering what happened to the victorious generals at Arginousai, it is understandable that 8 of the 9 Athenian ships that survived the disaster at Aigospotamoi decided not to return to Athens! Those eight ships were commanded by Konon, the only Athenian stratēgos who had managed to put to sea and escape. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 1.6.24–1.7.35, 2.3.32, 2.3.35; Diodoros. 13.97.1–13.103.2)
[5]↩ The Lakedaimonian king Pausanias was the son of King Pleistoanax and the grandson of the regent Pausanias, who had been the victor against the Persians in the battle of Plataia in 479 BCE. While still a minor, Pausanias was king during the 19 year long exile of his father Pleistoanax from 446/445 to 427/426 BCE. Later Pausanias became king as an adult in 408 BCE upon the death of Pleistoanax. The Lakedaimonians always had two kings ruling simultaneously as there were two royal houses. In 404 BCE, Pausanias was king representing the Agiad royal house and Agis II (reigned 427/426–400 BCE) was also king as a member of the Eurypontid royal house. The two royal houses were supposedly descended from the twin sons of Aristodemos, a descendant of the demigod Herakles. (Thoukydides. 1.114.2, 2.21.1, 3.26, 5.16; Diodoros. 13.75.1(
[6]↩ The Constitution of the Athenians is not thought to have been written by Aristotle himself, but instead by his students under his supervision.
[7]↩ Xenophon wrote a very detailed narrative of the rule of the oligarchs in Athens. There are a number of passages in which Xenophon’s account sounds like that of a participant. For example, in one passage describing the Thirty’s attack on the democrats in the fortress of Phyle, Xenophon (Hellēnika 2.4.2) commented that there was “mal’ euēmerias (exceedingly fine weather)” that day. This certainly sounds like the comment of an eyewitness. In two other passages, Xenophon (Hellēnika 2.4.6, 2.4.27) gave the names of two individual Athenian hippeis who were slain. He did not mention any slain hoplites or democrats by name in any part of his narrative of the reign of the oligarchs in Athens. Furthermore, the deaths of these two men were in no way noteworthy. This certainly gives the impression that these two hippeis—Nikostratos the Fair and Kallistratos of the Leontis phylē (tribe)—were Xenophon’s companions, whose memories he wished to honour. Finally, Xenophon (Hellēnika 2.4.26) described the anguish that many of the hippeis felt in butchering the men of Aixone. It seems to me that the most likely explanation for Xenophon’s intimate knowledge about the inner struggle of many of the hippeis was that he had been one of them. Taken individually none of these examples constitute a smoking gun proving that Xenophon participated in these events as a hippeus (cavalryman), but, taken together and along with others, they certainly provide strong, suggestive, circumstantial evidence that he did.
[8]↩ According to Plato (Kharmides 153c, 154b, 155a), Kritias was the son of Kallaiskhros and was the first cousin of Kharmides, who was the son of Kritias’ uncle Glaukon. Kritias had also been Kharmides’ guardian when Kharmides was a child.
Diogenes Laertios (3.1) wrote that Glaukon was the father of Kharmides and of Periktione, the mother of Plato. However, Diogenes Laertios (floruit ca. mid-3rd Century CE?) incorrectly stated that Glaukon was the brother of Kritias. The version of Plato himself that Glaukon was the uncle of Kritias should be preferred.
Based on the above, Kritias would have been Plato’s first cousin once removed also known as a second uncle and Kharmides would have been Plato’s uncle.
[9]↩ Plato’s Kharmides is a discourse between Sokrates, Kritias, and a young Kharmides on the topic of sōphrosynē (soundness of mind, prudence, discretion, moderation, self control, temperance). It describes Kharmides, the son of Glaukon, as a noted beauty as a young man. According to Xenophon (Hellēnika 2.4.19), Kharmides, son of Glaukon, was one of the ten oligarchs who ruled in Peiraieus under the Thirty Tyrants and along with Kritias was killed in the battle of Mounykhia.
[10]↩ Modern readers might have the mistaken opinion that ancient philosophers were unfit and therefore would not have made good cavalrymen. However, according to the philosopher Dikaiarkhos (Diogenes Laertes. 3.4–5), Plato competed in the sport of wrestling at the Isthmian Games. Obviously, Plato must have been exceedingly fit to have done so! In addition, Diogenes Laertes (3.8) wrote that Plato served in the army at Tanagra, Korinth, and Delion where he won the prize for valour. None of these campaigns can be identified though the action at Korinth may have been the battle of the Nemea Stream near Korinth in 394 BCE when Plato would have been around 33 or 34 years old. The famous battle of Tanagra (457 BCE) took place before Plato was born. The lesser battle of Tanagra (426 BCE) and the battle of Delion (424 BCE) were fought while Plato was a small child. So, Plato must have served in other less well known actions at these locations.
Plato himself is the source for the philosopher Sokrates as a warrior. Sokrates was said to have fought at Poteidaia, Amphipolis, and Delion. (Plato. Defense of Sokrates 28e)
If you encounter a word or spelling with which you are unfamiliar, be sure to check the glossaries (see the links on the right under Reference Aids).
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| Bust of Xenophon, ca. 332 BCE – 395 CE. (Antiquities Museum, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt) A bust of the Hellenisitic Age (323–30 BCE) or later with the inscription ‘XENOPHON’ |
Xenophon (ca. 430–354 BCE) of Athens was a noted author and general. Due to his popularity in antiquity and the intervening millennia, Xenophon’s entire oeuvre has fortunately survived intact. For modern readers, Xenophon is most well known for his Anabasis (Going Up, i.e. marching up country from the coast), an account of the unsuccessful rebellion of the Persian prince Cyrus the Younger and the ensuing so-called ‘March of the Ten Thousand’ in which Cyrus’ Greek mercenaries trudged home to Greece through challenging adversity. The Anabasis was written in the third person, but it was in effect an autobiographical work as Xenophon participated in the expedition. For modern historians, Xenophon’s Hellēnika is hugely important as a history of his own times continuing on where the great Athenian historian Thoukydides left off. Xenophon was a good historian yet all of his historical works were severely marred by his personal biases in favour of Lakedaimon (Sparta), autocratic rulers, and wealthy aristocrats. Xenophon, like many other aristocratic writers, tellingly referred to his own class as the beltistoi (most excellent), gnōrimoi (distinguished), kaloi kagathoi (beautiful/noble well-born), and kratistoi (strongest, most excellent). Amongst his many other works were two treatises on cavalry: the Hipparkhikos (For the Cavalry Commander) and the Peri Hippikēs (On Horsemanship). Before discussing Xenophon’s observations on ancient cavalry, the following historical background of Xenophon’s long and eventful life will hopefully be enlightening. Much of what follows is based upon Xenophon’s Hellēnika and Anabasis.
XENOPHON’S CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH
The Athenian Xenophon, son of Gryllos, was evidently born in ca. 430 BCE at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War (ca. 431–404 BCE), the monumental conflict between democratic Athens and totalitarian Lakedaimon (Sparta). The war would have dominated Xenophon’s entire childhood and youth.
The protracted Peloponnesian War finally came to an end after the Athenian navy was destroyed at Aigospotamoi in the Hellespont in 405 BCE. The victor in this decisive naval battle was the Lakedaimonian (Spartan) admiral Lysander, who apparently caught the Athenian ships on the beach with their crews dispersed. Out of a fleet of 180 Athenian triremes, only 9 ships escaped and only one of these—the elite state trireme Paralos—returned to Athens with the devastating news. Blockaded both by land and by sea and with many of its citizens dying of famine, Athens was forced to surrender in early 404 BCE. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.1.20–2.2.23; Diodoros. 13.105–107)
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| Greece During the Lifetime of Xenophon |
TH BLOODY RULE OF THE OLIGARCHS IN ATHENS
Despising democracy, the victorious Lakedaimonian (Spartan) Lysander encouraged the formation of an oligarchical regime in Athens known as the Thirty. Initially, the most prominent member of the Thirty was the moderate oligarch Theramenes, a leading Athenian politician and general who had negotiated the terms of Athens’ surrender. However, the ultraconservative Athenian oligarch Kritias, who years before had been exiled by the democrats, soon emerged as the foremost leader of the Thirty. The oligarchs’ most ardent supporters were the Three Thousand. This privileged group consisted of the 3,000 wealthiest Athenians and constituted the official citizen body under the regime of the Thirty. It was composed at the top level by the aristocratic Athenian hippeis (cavalrymen, knights) and at the middle level and below by well-to-do hoplites (heavy infantrymen). With the support of the Three Thousand as well as the backing of a Lakonian garrison in the Acropolis, the oligarchs murdered hundreds if not thousands of their political enemies. Incidentally, the Lakonian garrison had been sent by Lysander at the request of the Thirty. It numbered 700 soldiers—likely all Peloponnesian mercenaries—under the command of Kallibios as harmost (governor). (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.2.16–2.3.2, 2.3.11–20, 2.3.28; Diodoros. 14.3.1–14.4.4; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 34.3–36.1–2, 37.2, 38.2)
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| A Depiction of the Acropolis of Athens in Antiquity. (Drawing compliments of https://filelleni.wordpress.com.) |
The contemporary Athenian Kleokritos, the herald of the initiates [of the Eleusinian Mysteries], claimed that “the impious Thirty, for the sake of their own profit, killed almost more Athenians in eight months than all of the Peloponnesians had in ten years of making war”. This was most assuredly a gross exaggeration. A number of later Athenian writers stated that the Thirty put to death more than 1,500 Athenian citizens without fair trials.[1] As a result of their bloody, tyrannical rule, the oligarchs justifiably earned the nickname of the Thirty Tyrants.[2] The oligarchs implicated others in their crimes by ordering them to assist in the quasi-legal exile, robbery, and murder of their fellow citizens. Those who refused to collaborate risked becoming victims themselves. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.4.20–21, 2.3.12, 2.3.14–17, 2.3.21–22, 2.3.39–40, 2.3.43; Diodoros. 14.4.4, 14.5.5–14.5.7; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 35.4)
The only man known to have defied the Thirty Tyrants and survive unscathed was the elderly philosopher Sokrates (470/469–399 BCE). In defiance of the Thirty’s orders, Sokrates refused to participate in the arrest and execution of a fellow citizen named Leon the Salaminian. Sokrates was spared no doubt because one of his former students was none other than Kritias, the most powerful member of the Thirty. Sadly, Leon was not saved by Sokrates’ brave act of disobedience as others were willing to participate in his murder. (Plato. Defense of Sokrates 32c-d; Plato. Letters 7.324e–325a; Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.3.39; Andokides. Concerning the Mysteries 1.94)
As the number of the slain mounted, the moderate oligarch Theramenes made the mistake of questioning the wisdom of this reign of terror. In a meeting of the Athenian Boulē (Council, traditionally consisting of 500 citizens above the age of 30), Kritias summarily struck Theramenes’ name from the register of the Three Thousand—thereby stripping him of all rights as a citizen—and then ordered his execution. Kritias had placed men who were visibly armed with daggers inside the Bouleutērion (Council Chamber) and outside had placed an armed guard, undoubtedly members of the Lakonian garrison. Consequently, no one—other than Theramenes himself—dared to object and the order was promptly carried out![3] (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.3.15–56; Diodoros. 14.4.5–14.5.5; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 37)
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| New Bouleuterion, Athens, Greece, ca. 406 BCE. (Drawing compliments of the Foundation of the Hellenic World) |
ATHENIAN POPULAR UPRISING AGAINST THE OLIGARCHS
It was not long before the oppressive and bloody rule of the Thirty Tyrants provoked a popular uprising. During the winter of 404–403 BCE, the democratic Athenian leader Thrasyboulos[4] crossed the border from Thebes—where he had been residing in exile—into Attica. With around 70 companions, he seized the small Attic border fort of Phyle and began to raise an army of supporters. During the Peloponnesian War, Thrasyboulos had taken a prominent role in opposing the oligarchic coup of 411 BCE in Athens and subsequently had enjoyed a successful career as a general. Despite being wealthy, Thrasyboulos was a leading democrat and had fled or had been exiled by the Thirty Tyrants apparently at the very beginning of their reign before the executions had emerged into full swing. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.3.42, 2.3.44, 2.4.1–7; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 37.1)
Having quickly raised a small force numbering about 1,000 men, Thrasyboulos surprised the oligarchs by occupying the Athenian port of Peiraieus at night. The oligarchs had forced many of their opponents to withdraw from Athens and to live in Peiraieus, so the port was undoubtedly a welcoming recruiting ground for the democrats. When the oligarchs promptly led their larger and much better equipped army against him, Thrasyboulos took up a defensive position on the hill of Mounykhia and repulsed the oligarchs’ attack. Kritias and two other oligarchs were slain in the assault. Thereupon the oligarchs’ army retreated back to Athens where the remaining Thirty Tyrants were deposed by the Three Thousand. The Thirty retired with their diehard aristocratic adherents to Eleusis, which they had prepared beforehand as a place of refuge (see below). Eleusis was the site of the famous Eleusinian Mysteries. The Mysteries were initiation rites and festivals of great antiquity celebrated every year in honour of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone. The Thirty Tyrants were replaced in Athens by a new group of oligarchs called the Ten, who had the unwavering support of many of the hippeis. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.4.10–27; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 38.1–2)
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| Ancient Attica and its Neighbours |
The Lakedaimonians (Spartans) intervened on the side of the Athenian oligarchs likely in the spring or early summer of 403 BCE. They first dispatched the conquering hero Lysander to Eleusis to raise a mercenary force and at the same time dispatched his brother Libys with a fleet to blockade the democrats in the port of Peiraieus. The Lakedaimonian king Pausanias[5]—who was envious of Lysander’s influence—followed shortly thereafter with a large Peloponnesian army. After some minor skirmishes with the democrats, Pausanias took the initiative in negotiating with both sides and took a surprisingly conciliatory and politically progressive approach. In rivalry with the ultraconservative Lysander, King Pausanias effected a peace settlement by which the oligarchs were to live in exile at Eleusis. The exiled oligarchs included the remaining members of the Thirty, the Ten, the Eleven (the board of executioners), and the Peiraieus’ Ten who had governed the port under the oligarchs. Those of their followers who were fearful of the democrats were directed to join the oligarchs in Eleusis, which was to constitute an autonomous and independent state. Apparently, King Pausanias realized that a wholesale slaughter and exile of the democrats would have been necessary in order to secure the rule of the oligarchs and it would seem that—unlike Lysander—Pausanias was unwilling to sanction that action. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.4.28–42; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 38–39)
THE RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY IN ATHENS
Thereafter, the archonship of Eukleides (summer 403 to summer 402 BCE) marked a watershed moment in Athenian history. The democrats required all citizens to swear a binding oath to uphold a law that forbade the prosecution of anyone for a capital crime committed prior to Eukleides’ archonship. The lone exception was for a homicide committed by an offender’s own hand or, in other words, a killing that was not part of a quasi-legal execution. It was in effect a general amnesty for the crimes committed by the many Athenians who had collaborated with the oligarchs. This amnesty was even extended to the oligarchs themselves on the condition that they agreed to submit to an euthyna or rendering of their accounts in a public examination, which was traditional for Athenian officials at the expiration of their terms of office. (Andokides. Concerning the Mysteries 1.87–99; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 39–40; Aiskhines. On the Dishonest Embassy 2.176)
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| Ancient Eleusis, Greece. The above drawing shows the southeast corner of ancient Eleusis by the sea. The Telesterion was the Initiation Hall that could hold thousands. At the top of the drawing is the acropolis of Eleusis and beyond that was the main part of the ancient town. (Drawing compliments of Greece Ancient and Modern.) |
Nonetheless, in the archonship of Xenainetos (summer 401 to summer 400 BCE), it was learned that the oligarchs in Eleusis were hiring foreign mercenaries undoubtedly for the purposes of staging a coup. The democrats marched their full forces to Eleusis and siezed and executed the oligarchic generals for plotting to overthrow the democratic government of Athens. As for the oligarchs’ supporters, the democrats sent their relatives and friends to persuade them that the offer of amnesty was genuine. They succeeded and the oligarchic haven of Eleusis was forthwith dissolved and reunited with the rest of the Athenian state. Democracy was thereby securely restored in Athens and without a bloodbath of revenge! This reconciliation lasted for the lifetimes of those involved. This was an incredible achievement for which Thrasyboulos and his fellow democrats were and are not even now properly celebrated. This is due to the fact that most ancient Greek writers were aristocrats—many with oligarchical sympathies—who had no love for democracy. For example, Aristotle[6] barely even mentioned Thrasyboulos except to lambaste him for proposing to grant Athenian citizenship to everyone—including slaves!—who had assembled in Peiraieus to oppose the oligarchs. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.4.43; Aristotle. Constitution of the Athenians 40)
XENOPHON AND PLATO DURING THE OLIGARCHS’ REIGN OF TERROR
Xenophon (ca. 430–354 BCE) was a young man in his mid or late twenties during the oligarchs’ reign of terror. He was clearly a member of the Athenian hippeis (cavalry, knights) class with obvious oligarchical political views. As a young adult, Xenophon had become a dedicated pupil of the philosopher Sokrates. What role Xenophon played during the last years of the Peloponnesian War and during the bloody rule of the Athenian oligarchs is unknown.[7]
Incidentally, the eminent philosopher Plato (ca. 428/427–348/347 BCE) was a contemporary of Xenophon with a similiar background. Plato was apparently a few years younger than Xenophon and was also a pupil of Sokrates. Plato was the scion of an illustrious aristocratic family in Athens. His older kinsmen Kritias[8] and Kharmides[9] were both leaders of the oligarchy of 404 BCE and both men were killed at the battle of Mounykhia. Years later, Plato wrote that as a young man he first became interested in participating in politics during the rule of the Thirty. However, he soon became disgusted by their anosia erga (unholy acts) and kakai (wickedness) but, rather than oppose the Thirty Tyrants, Plato simply withdrew from public service. (Plato. Letters 7.324b–325a)
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| Bust of Plato (Centrale Montemartini, Capitoline Museums, Rome, Italy) Roman copy of the portrait made by Silanion ca. 370 BCE. The Greek original had been set up in the Academy, the school founded by Plato, with the following inscription: “Mithradates, the son of Orontobates, the Persian dedicated to the Muses this likeness of Plato, which was made by Silanion.” (Diogenes Laertios. 3.25) (Image compliments of the Wikimedia Commons) |
Based on their age and wealth, both Xenophon and Plato undoubtedly served in the Athenian cavalry during the rule of the Thirty Tyrants.[10] On one occasion, the Thirty asked the hippeis (cavalrymen) to arrest the Athenian citizens of Eleusis and bring them to Athens. There the hippeis and hoplites of the Three Thousand were instructed to condemn the Eleusinians to death as the oligarchs wished to make Eleusis into a haven for themselves. The Three Thousand cast their votes—in the form of psēphoi (pebbles)—under the watchful eyes of the armed Lakonian guard and consequently approved the motion. On another occasion, while patroling the countryside, the Athenian hippeis rounded up a group of Athenians from Aixone. This was after the victory of the democrats at Mounykhia and apparently the Aixoneans were democratic supporters who were travelling to their farms for provisions. The hipparch Lysimakhos ordered his men to cut the throats of their captives. Despite the pleas of their victims and—according to Xenophon—despite the qualms of many of the hippeis, they nonetheless carried out this butchery of their fellow citizens. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 2.4.8–10, 2.4.26)
It would be interesting—to put it mildly—to know if Xenophon and Plato participated in these and other atrocities. Both men were doubtlessly members of the hippeis class as well as members of the Three Thousand, so it is highly likely that they did collaborate with the oligarchs. Unlike the exceptional case of Sokrates, there is no record of either Xenophon or Plato defying the oligarchs. Regrettably, we do not know if either man was a member of the oligarchic faction that occupied Eleusis after the fall of the Thirty or that resided in the autonomous oligarchical state at Eleusis after the settlement of King Pausanias. Be that as it may, it was because of such wide spread war crimes as those described above that the democrats found it necessary to grant a general amnesty to all except to the oligarchy’s leaders. Both Xenophon and Plato would have been included in this generous pardon. Nevertheless, shortly afterwards Xenophon left Athens and did not return for several decades. Following the shocking and iniquitous execution of Sokrates in 399 BCE, Plato also left Athens and travelled extensively for roughly a decade. (Plato. Letters 7.324a; Diogenes Laertios. 3.6, 3.18–23)
GO TO PART TWO
FOOTNOTES
[1]↩ Isokrates (Areopagitikos 7.67, Against Lokhitos 20.11) stated that the Thirty condemned to death 1,500 citizens akritos (without a trial). According to Aiskhines (Against Ktesiphon 3.235), the Thirty executed pleious (more than) 1,500 citizens akritos. Aristotle (Constitution of the Athenians 35.4) stated that “ouk elattous (not less than) 1,500 were done away with”. This figure of 1,500 may not have included non-citizens nor those slain by the post-Thirty oligarchs. Xenophon (Hellēnika 2.4.8–10) wrote that the Thirty executed the men of Eleusis, which was a substantial town. According to Lysias (Against Eratosthenes 12.52, Against Agoratus 13.44), the Thirty slew 300 citizens from Eleusis and Salamis. Diodoros (14.32.4) stated that the Thirty alleged that the Eleusinians and Salaminians were sympathic to the exiles and consequently slew every one of them!
[2]↩ It is unclear when exactly the Thirty became known as the Thirty Tyrants.
[3]↩ According to Diodoros (14.5.2–14.5.3), Sokrates attempted to physically intervene to prevent Theramenes from being dragged from the altar of Hestia Boulaia (the goddess Hestia of the Council). However, no contemporary writer such as Plato or Xenophon mentioned this act of bravery on the part of Sokrates. The arrest took place during a meeting of the Boulē (Council). Though Sokrates had been a member of the Boulē in 406 BCE under the democracy, it is highly unlikely that Sokrates—a lowly stonecutter—was a member of this elite body under the oligarchs nor even a member of the wealthy Three Thousand. However, assuming for the moment that Sokrates had been a member of the Three Thousand and of the Boulē under the Thirty, his refusal to collaborate in Leon’s murder—which according to Xenophon (Hellēnika 2.3.39) took place prior to the execution of Theramenes—would surely have resulted in his expulsion from the Boulē.
[4]↩ Together the oligarch Theramenes and the democrat Thrasyboulos shared an intimate connection with a famous incident near the end of the Peloponnesian War. In 406 BCE, the Athenians manned 110 triremes to sail to the rescue of the Athenian stratēgos Konon, who was being blockaded in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. In this emergency, even large numbers of hippeis (cavalrymen)—perhaps including a young Xenophon—served in the fleet doubtlessly as marines. The hastily assembled fleet was commanded by eight stratēgoi (generals, a term that the Athenians applied to commanders whether on land or on sea).
This Athenian fleet trounced the Lakedaimonians (Spartans) in a naval battle off the southeast coast of Lesbos near the Arginousai islands. The Lakedaimonians lost their Nauarkhos (High Admiral) Kallikratidas and more than 70 ships. The Athenians lost 25 ships of which only 12 were sunk. After the battle, Theramenes and Thrasyboulos—both serving as triērarkhoi (captains/ship sponsors)—were ordered along with others to rescue the Athenian crews who were in the water. They failed to do so due to a heavy storm. Meanwhile, the victorious Athenian stratēgoi and the larger part of the Athenian fleet set off to attack the 50 Lakedaimonian ships that were blockading Konon in Mytilene. However, the Lakedaimonian commander Eteonikos was forewarned of the disaster that had befallen Kallikratidas and fled before the Athenians arrived.
Back in Athens, the eight triumphant stratēgoi who had been in command at Arginousai were condemned by the Boulē (Council) and Ekklēsia (Assembly) for their failure to rescue the drowned crews. The six stratēgoi who had returned to Athens were promptly executed without fair and separate trials! Included in this number were Thrasyllos, a prominent democratic leader and successful stratēgos, and Perikles, the son of the great Athenian leader Perikles. Remarkably, both Theramenes—who had joined in denouncing the stratēgoi—and Thrasyboulos escaped scot-free! One man who had refused to sanction this witch hunt was the philosopher Sokrates, who happened that day to have been selected by lot to serve as the epistatēs (president) of the Boulē and Ekklēsia (Xenophon. Hellēnika 1.7.14–15; Plato. Defense of Sokrates 32b–32c; Xenophon. Memorial Records 1.1.18). Unfortunately, Sokrates’ procedural obstruction only served as a brief hinderance to the proceedings.
Later, the Athenians regretted their hasty reaction and condemned those who had prosecuted the victorious stratēgoi. The following year, the Athenians found themselves desperately in need of competent commanders at Aigospotamoi. Considering what happened to the victorious generals at Arginousai, it is understandable that 8 of the 9 Athenian ships that survived the disaster at Aigospotamoi decided not to return to Athens! Those eight ships were commanded by Konon, the only Athenian stratēgos who had managed to put to sea and escape. (Xenophon. Hellēnika 1.6.24–1.7.35, 2.3.32, 2.3.35; Diodoros. 13.97.1–13.103.2)
[5]↩ The Lakedaimonian king Pausanias was the son of King Pleistoanax and the grandson of the regent Pausanias, who had been the victor against the Persians in the battle of Plataia in 479 BCE. While still a minor, Pausanias was king during the 19 year long exile of his father Pleistoanax from 446/445 to 427/426 BCE. Later Pausanias became king as an adult in 408 BCE upon the death of Pleistoanax. The Lakedaimonians always had two kings ruling simultaneously as there were two royal houses. In 404 BCE, Pausanias was king representing the Agiad royal house and Agis II (reigned 427/426–400 BCE) was also king as a member of the Eurypontid royal house. The two royal houses were supposedly descended from the twin sons of Aristodemos, a descendant of the demigod Herakles. (Thoukydides. 1.114.2, 2.21.1, 3.26, 5.16; Diodoros. 13.75.1(
[6]↩ The Constitution of the Athenians is not thought to have been written by Aristotle himself, but instead by his students under his supervision.
[7]↩ Xenophon wrote a very detailed narrative of the rule of the oligarchs in Athens. There are a number of passages in which Xenophon’s account sounds like that of a participant. For example, in one passage describing the Thirty’s attack on the democrats in the fortress of Phyle, Xenophon (Hellēnika 2.4.2) commented that there was “mal’ euēmerias (exceedingly fine weather)” that day. This certainly sounds like the comment of an eyewitness. In two other passages, Xenophon (Hellēnika 2.4.6, 2.4.27) gave the names of two individual Athenian hippeis who were slain. He did not mention any slain hoplites or democrats by name in any part of his narrative of the reign of the oligarchs in Athens. Furthermore, the deaths of these two men were in no way noteworthy. This certainly gives the impression that these two hippeis—Nikostratos the Fair and Kallistratos of the Leontis phylē (tribe)—were Xenophon’s companions, whose memories he wished to honour. Finally, Xenophon (Hellēnika 2.4.26) described the anguish that many of the hippeis felt in butchering the men of Aixone. It seems to me that the most likely explanation for Xenophon’s intimate knowledge about the inner struggle of many of the hippeis was that he had been one of them. Taken individually none of these examples constitute a smoking gun proving that Xenophon participated in these events as a hippeus (cavalryman), but, taken together and along with others, they certainly provide strong, suggestive, circumstantial evidence that he did.
[8]↩ According to Plato (Kharmides 153c, 154b, 155a), Kritias was the son of Kallaiskhros and was the first cousin of Kharmides, who was the son of Kritias’ uncle Glaukon. Kritias had also been Kharmides’ guardian when Kharmides was a child.
Diogenes Laertios (3.1) wrote that Glaukon was the father of Kharmides and of Periktione, the mother of Plato. However, Diogenes Laertios (floruit ca. mid-3rd Century CE?) incorrectly stated that Glaukon was the brother of Kritias. The version of Plato himself that Glaukon was the uncle of Kritias should be preferred.
Based on the above, Kritias would have been Plato’s first cousin once removed also known as a second uncle and Kharmides would have been Plato’s uncle.
[9]↩ Plato’s Kharmides is a discourse between Sokrates, Kritias, and a young Kharmides on the topic of sōphrosynē (soundness of mind, prudence, discretion, moderation, self control, temperance). It describes Kharmides, the son of Glaukon, as a noted beauty as a young man. According to Xenophon (Hellēnika 2.4.19), Kharmides, son of Glaukon, was one of the ten oligarchs who ruled in Peiraieus under the Thirty Tyrants and along with Kritias was killed in the battle of Mounykhia.
[10]↩ Modern readers might have the mistaken opinion that ancient philosophers were unfit and therefore would not have made good cavalrymen. However, according to the philosopher Dikaiarkhos (Diogenes Laertes. 3.4–5), Plato competed in the sport of wrestling at the Isthmian Games. Obviously, Plato must have been exceedingly fit to have done so! In addition, Diogenes Laertes (3.8) wrote that Plato served in the army at Tanagra, Korinth, and Delion where he won the prize for valour. None of these campaigns can be identified though the action at Korinth may have been the battle of the Nemea Stream near Korinth in 394 BCE when Plato would have been around 33 or 34 years old. The famous battle of Tanagra (457 BCE) took place before Plato was born. The lesser battle of Tanagra (426 BCE) and the battle of Delion (424 BCE) were fought while Plato was a small child. So, Plato must have served in other less well known actions at these locations.
Plato himself is the source for the philosopher Sokrates as a warrior. Sokrates was said to have fought at Poteidaia, Amphipolis, and Delion. (Plato. Defense of Sokrates 28e)
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