(Page 1 of 35) - Xenophon's Account of Persia in the Cyropaedia authored by Whidden, Christopher.

Xenophon’s Account of Persia in the Cyropaedia

As I shall try to show in this paper, Xenophon thought that understanding the nature of the Persian

regime was a necessary condition for understanding Cyrus. Cyrus’ earliest education took place in Persia
and he learned lessons there that he applies throughout his life. In order to begin to piece together Cyrus’
wisdom, we must as it were begin with his childhood education in Persia. As this paper will endeavor to
show, the wisdom Cyrus acquires in Persia consists in large part in his coming to see the limits of the
Persian regime, which he tries to transcend by correcting them and using these corrections as the motor or
engine for his empire. To understand Cyrus’ wisdom ―which is to say, to understand the Cyropaedia―
one must study the character of the Persian regime. Though Cyrus cannot be reduced to his Persian
education, neither can his wisdom be understood apart from it. In the end, Xenophon’s wisdom may differ
from Cyrus’ wisdom insofar as Xenophon thought that there were potentially many arguments to be made
on behalf of maintaining the Persian regime, warts and all.

Long recognized as an important political philosopher by other political

philosophers throughout the ages,

political theorists are once again turning to Xenophon

and his Cyropaedia in particular as an important work in ancient political theory.

The

Cyropaedia is first and foremost an investigation about Cyrus, the founder of the Persian

Empire. In his description of why he decided to write the Cyropaedia, Xenophon wrote:

So on the grounds that this man (anēr) was worthy of wonder (thaumazō) we examined who he
was by birth, what his nature (phusis) was, and with what education he was brought up, such that
he so excelled in ruling human beings (anthrōpoi). Whatever we have learned, therefore, and
think we have perceived about him, we shall try to relate (1.1.6).

On Xenophon’s influence on philosophers and scholars throughout the ages, see Christopher Nadon,

Xenophon's Prince: Republic and Empire in the Cyropaedia (Berkeley: University of California Press,
2001) 3. Christopher Tuplin, The Failings of Empire: A Reading of Xenophon (Stuttgart: F. Steiner, 1993)
21-28. J.K. Anderson, Xenophon (Bristol: Duckworth, 1974) 1-8. Karl Munscher, "Xenophon in Der
Griechisch-Romischen Literatur," Philologus 13 (1920): 24. James Tatum, Xenophon's Imperial Fiction
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989). Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg, "Cyrus in Italy: From Dante
to Machiavelli," Arcaemenid History, V: The Roots of European Tradition, eds. H. Sancisi-Weerdenburg
and J.W. Drijvers (Leiden: Netherlands instituut voor het nabije oosten, 1990) 31-52.

According to Bartlett, “the writings of Xenophon are once again attracting serious study,” so much so that

a “rehabilitation of Xenophon” is currently underway. Robert C. Bartlett, "Editor's Introduction,"
Xenophon: The Shorter Socratic Writings, ed. Robert C. Bartlett (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996).
According to the 1996 edition of the Oxford Classical Dictionary, “The Cyropaedia has been found full in
modern times. But a revival of interest is underway, and it is arguably a litmus-test for a true appreciation
of Xenophon in general.” Quoted in Nadon, Xenophon's Prince: Republic and Empire in the Cyropaedia
4, n. 16. Ambler’s excellent new translation of the Cyropaedia both reflects the increased interest in
Xenophon’s Cyropaedia and has in turn contributed to that interest. See Xenophon, The Education of
Cyrus, trans. Wayne Ambler (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001). Examples of recent scholarship on
the Cyropaedia include David M. Johnson, "Persians as Centaurs in Xenophon's Cyropaedia," Transactions
of the American Philological Association 135.1 (2005). Robert J. Phillips, "Xenophon's Cyropaedia and the
Problem of Extraordinary Political Leadership," Ph.D. diss., Northern Illinois University, 2002. Wayne
Ambler, "Introduction: Xenophon's Education of Cyrus," Xenophon: The Education of Cyrus (Ithaca:
Cornell University Press, 2001). Nadon, Xenophon's Prince: Republic and Empire in the Cyropaedia.
Christopher Nadon, "From Republic to Empire: Political Revolution and the Common Good in Xenophon's
Education of Cyrus," The American Political Science Review 90.2 (1996).

Unless otherwise noted, all citations refer the book, chapter, and section of the Cyropaedia to which I

refer. In all cases, I have followed the translations found in Xenophon, The Education of Cyrus.