Balder Ex-Libris

Author : Xenophon
Title : The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika
Year : *

Link download : Xenophon_-_The_Landmark_Xenophon_s.zip

Introduction §1.1. In his Hellenika, Xenophon of Athens gave his version of the events of the half century that had just passed when he wrote it, the years between 411 and 362.a That was a dramatic period in the history of Greece, in which the fortunes of the leading Greek city-states rose and fell disconcertingly as they repeatedly fought one another in shifting combinations. It was also a period that was vital in the development of our own culture. The citizens of Athens overcame problems in reconciling law and popular government and so produced a stable democracy. Much of what was written then continues to inspire philosophers and historians today. §1.2. Hellenika largely concentrates on the relations between the two leading Greek city-states, Athens and Sparta, which were at war with each other for about half this period but were allies at its end. Xenophon had been a young man in Athens in the 400s, served in the Spartan army in early middle age, and later lived as a dependent of Sparta, so he knew what he was writing about. He finished the work only about five years or so after 362, when his narrative ends, and had in mind an audience that also knew a great deal about his subject matter-a fact that can create difficulties for the modern reader. Xenophon intended to tell his readers some new things, but he mostly aimed to give them his own slant on what was for them a familiar story. He wanted to make clear the messages he thought he found in the recent past. At the same time, he was almost as much concerned to make the past live again for his audience. ...