Anabasis

About the book

Greek soldiers join Cyrus the Younger on a march into the Persian Empire, only to face a radically altered situation when his challenge for the throne fails. Far from familiar territory, they must negotiate leadership, supplies, hostile forces, difficult terrain, and disagreement within their own ranks. Xenophon recounts the expedition as a participant who assumes a prominent role, giving speeches and decisions a place beside the physical demands of movement. The account makes survival a collective undertaking that depends on persuasion and discipline as much as fighting. Its geographical progress remains inseparable from changing alliances and uncertain information. Readers encounter both an extraordinary journey and a carefully presented account of command, in which the narrator's own conduct forms part of the case he asks his audience to assess.

• Leadership
• Collective survival
• Trust and negotiation

Why read it

For a vivid account of an army's precarious return that makes argument, logistics, and leadership central to the adventure.

Historical narrative · translated by H. G. Dakyns