WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 Welcome to The Deep Dive, the show where we take 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:04.879 a monumental figure from history, science, or 00:00:04.879 --> 00:00:07.519 culture, snack up all the sources, and give you 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:10.460 the comprehensive, yet highly digestible, shortcut 00:00:10.460 --> 00:00:12.839 to knowing everything that matters. Today we 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:16.239 are opening the file on a man whose very identity 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:19.500 has kept classicists arguing for over two millennia. 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:22.620 Xenophon of Athens. Right. And it's the ultimate 00:00:22.620 --> 00:00:25.239 case of ancient multiplicity, isn't it? Xenophon, 00:00:25.300 --> 00:00:28.480 born around 430 B .C., he really did live several 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:31.000 lives at once. He absolutely did. Was he primarily 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:34.700 a soldier, a tactician whose operational genius, 00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:37.000 you know, foreshadowed Alexander the Great? Or 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:39.380 was he a serious historian picking up the pen 00:00:39.380 --> 00:00:42.759 directly where the famously unfinished work of 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:45.679 Thucydides just stops? And this is the big one 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:48.179 for a lot of history. Was he the dedicated philosopher, 00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:50.149 the essential second witness? who preserved the 00:00:50.149 --> 00:00:52.090 moral teachings of Socrates. And that question 00:00:52.090 --> 00:00:54.170 is so wonderfully loaded because the consensus 00:00:54.170 --> 00:00:57.090 has, well, it's shifted over the centuries. For 00:00:57.090 --> 00:00:59.469 a huge chunk of history, Xenophon was recognized 00:00:59.469 --> 00:01:02.250 not as a military leader, but primarily as a 00:01:02.250 --> 00:01:04.769 philosopher. Yeah, you have writers like Quintilian 00:01:04.769 --> 00:01:07.890 in his Guide to the Orators education, who certainly 00:01:07.890 --> 00:01:10.010 knew about the military campaigns and all the 00:01:10.010 --> 00:01:12.769 histories. But he firmly placed Xenophon right 00:01:12.769 --> 00:01:15.689 next to Plato as a philosophical source. Exactly. 00:01:15.849 --> 00:01:18.250 He was the one who recorded the practical, the 00:01:18.250 --> 00:01:21.519 ethical Socrates. And this enduring legacy is 00:01:21.519 --> 00:01:24.019 due not only to what he wrote, but I mean, how 00:01:24.019 --> 00:01:26.459 he wrote it. Oh, absolutely. He wrote in this 00:01:26.459 --> 00:01:29.659 wonderfully clear, unadorned Attic Greek. It 00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:33.260 was so elegant, so accessible that later generations 00:01:33.260 --> 00:01:37.159 like. Diogenes Laertius, they honored him with 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:39.739 his title, the Attic Muse, for the sheer sweetness 00:01:39.739 --> 00:01:41.939 of his diction. So if you were a student back 00:01:41.939 --> 00:01:44.159 in antiquity learning the language, Xenophon 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:45.959 was basically your textbook. He was your first 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:48.620 read, yeah. And that remarkable clarity makes 00:01:48.620 --> 00:01:51.760 his work universally accessible, but also, as 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:54.500 we're about to see, a little deceptive in its 00:01:54.500 --> 00:01:56.780 simplicity. That's a great point. He wrote the 00:01:56.780 --> 00:01:58.980 history of his time, but he did so as a deeply 00:01:58.980 --> 00:02:02.379 engaged. and let's be honest, often biased participant. 00:02:02.620 --> 00:02:04.719 He gives us the view from the inside. The view 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:07.040 from the inside, whether that inside is the collapsing 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:09.800 democracy of Athens, the widget oligarchy of 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:11.939 Sparta, or the desperate command structure of 00:02:11.939 --> 00:02:14.199 a mercenary army marching across the Persian 00:02:14.199 --> 00:02:17.039 heartland. So our mission today is to truly unpack 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:19.860 this tripod of identities. We need to examine 00:02:19.860 --> 00:02:22.719 the general who revolutionized the system of 00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:25.699 military retreat. the historian who chronicled 00:02:25.699 --> 00:02:27.780 the downfall of Athens and the rise of Sparta, 00:02:27.860 --> 00:02:30.300 and of course the profound political philosopher 00:02:30.300 --> 00:02:33.500 who used fictionalized biography to offer a subtle, 00:02:33.620 --> 00:02:37.020 devastating critique of empire and unchecked 00:02:37.020 --> 00:02:40.219 power. We're going to see Xenophon as the disillusioned 00:02:40.219 --> 00:02:43.580 Athenian who sought stability elsewhere. And 00:02:43.580 --> 00:02:46.319 ultimately found flaws everywhere. Okay, let's 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:48.539 unpack the setting for this extraordinary life. 00:02:48.889 --> 00:02:51.889 Xenophon was born around 430 B .C. into the Athenian 00:02:51.889 --> 00:02:55.469 aristocracy. His father was Gryllus. Right. And 00:02:55.469 --> 00:02:58.289 this means his entire youth, his formative years, 00:02:58.449 --> 00:03:01.090 were utterly dominated by this massive, destructive 00:03:01.090 --> 00:03:04.969 27 -year war between Athens and Sparta, the Peloponnesian 00:03:04.969 --> 00:03:06.789 War. It wasn't just a political backdrop for 00:03:06.789 --> 00:03:09.960 him. No, not at all. It was the air he breathed. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:12.020 He's born into one of the wealthiest families 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:14.240 in the Demoverchia, and he grows up watching 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.819 Athenian democracy in its greatest expansion 00:03:16.819 --> 00:03:20.300 and its greatest folly just self -destruct. And 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:22.120 the sources make it pretty clear that he wasn't 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:25.000 just a spectator. No, he lived through and often 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:28.340 participated in the immense political turbulence 00:03:28.340 --> 00:03:31.000 of that era. And what turbulence it was. I mean, 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:33.500 think about the rapid -fire disasters and reversals 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:36.020 he saw firsthand before he was even 30. It's 00:03:36.020 --> 00:03:39.419 staggering. He witnesses the spectacular, if 00:03:39.419 --> 00:03:43.740 brief, return of Alcibiades in 407 B .C., which 00:03:43.740 --> 00:03:45.740 must have felt like this massive moment of hope 00:03:45.740 --> 00:03:47.719 for some people. But then almost immediately, 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:51.020 the catastrophic naval battle at Argenusae. Followed 00:03:51.020 --> 00:03:54.199 by the terrible and, frankly, illegal trial of 00:03:54.199 --> 00:03:57.360 the generals in 406 B .C., which alienated basically 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:00.379 the entire Athenian elite. That trial was a huge 00:04:00.379 --> 00:04:02.159 turning point, wasn't it? It was a watershed 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:04.500 moment. It signaled that the Democratic Assembly 00:04:04.500 --> 00:04:06.759 could be driven by mass hysteria and political 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:09.360 manipulation, essentially sacrificing its own 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:12.120 successful generals to scapegoat for poor management. 00:04:12.259 --> 00:04:14.620 So for a young guy with aristocratic sensibilities 00:04:14.620 --> 00:04:17.660 like Xenophon. It confirmed everything. The inherent 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:20.139 instability and injustice of radical democracy. 00:04:20.649 --> 00:04:22.910 And the climax of this political whiplash, of 00:04:22.910 --> 00:04:25.930 course, is the total defeat of Athens in 404 00:04:25.930 --> 00:04:28.769 BC, followed by the installation of that brutal 00:04:28.769 --> 00:04:31.649 oligarchic regime, the Thirty Tyrants. And here's 00:04:31.649 --> 00:04:33.910 where we get concrete evidence of Xenophon's 00:04:33.910 --> 00:04:36.550 political leanings. The sources indicate that 00:04:36.550 --> 00:04:39.110 during the civil war that followed, when the 00:04:39.110 --> 00:04:41.350 democratic insurgents rallied against the Thirty 00:04:41.350 --> 00:04:44.199 Xenophon, actively fought on the side of the 00:04:44.199 --> 00:04:46.319 oligarchy. Wow. So that's a critical detail. 00:04:46.459 --> 00:04:49.319 He wasn't just some moderate. He actively opposed 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:51.579 the restoration of the democracy that defined 00:04:51.579 --> 00:04:54.180 his birthplace. He did. And that association 00:04:54.180 --> 00:04:57.779 with the losing anti -democratic faction is really 00:04:57.779 --> 00:05:00.779 the first key to understanding his eventual alienation 00:05:00.779 --> 00:05:03.279 and his exile. But even as all this political 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:05.839 drama was unfolding, he was developing intellectually, 00:05:06.019 --> 00:05:08.980 as was standard for young men of his class. Right. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:11.259 And this is where his life changes forever. the 00:05:11.259 --> 00:05:13.579 connection to Socrates. This is the defining 00:05:13.579 --> 00:05:15.959 personal relationship of his life. And we have 00:05:15.959 --> 00:05:17.839 this perfect little story about how it began, 00:05:18.019 --> 00:05:20.540 thanks to Diogenes Laertius. It's a great story. 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:22.800 It's a moment of physical interruption by the 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:25.879 great philosopher. The famous anecdote. So Xenophon 00:05:25.879 --> 00:05:28.519 is walking through the city, probably preoccupied 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:31.100 with aristocratic matters. And Socrates literally 00:05:31.100 --> 00:05:34.560 stops him, using his walking stick to block the 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:37.240 narrow path. And he asked him this really simple 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:39.980 question, forcing Xenophon to stop and engage. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:43.579 Where are necessary things sold? And Xenophon 00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:45.899 answers right. He lists the markets, the places 00:05:45.899 --> 00:05:48.420 of commerce. And then Socrates asks the profound 00:05:48.420 --> 00:05:51.560 question, where are men made good and virtuous? 00:05:51.899 --> 00:05:54.860 And when Xenophon honestly has to admit that 00:05:54.860 --> 00:05:57.220 he doesn't know the answer. Socrates delivers 00:05:57.220 --> 00:06:00.000 the invitation to change history. Follow me then 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:03.079 and learn. It's so immediate, so compelling, 00:06:03.180 --> 00:06:05.360 and it beautifully encapsulates the difference 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:08.319 between the two primary Socratic witnesses. Absolutely. 00:06:08.500 --> 00:06:11.040 While Plato was drawn to the grand metaphysics, 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:15.110 the forms, the abstract ideals. Xenophon captured 00:06:15.110 --> 00:06:18.589 Socrates, the moralist, the ethical guide, the 00:06:18.589 --> 00:06:20.790 man who was fundamentally concerned with making 00:06:20.790 --> 00:06:23.529 men good through practical discipline and inquiry. 00:06:23.790 --> 00:06:26.230 And this philosophical education only heightened 00:06:26.230 --> 00:06:30.810 Xenophon's existing aristocratic and anti -democratic 00:06:30.810 --> 00:06:33.850 biases. Of course. The Athenian elite often viewed 00:06:33.850 --> 00:06:36.250 the chaos of democracy as a failure of virtue. 00:06:36.529 --> 00:06:39.389 And their teacher, Socrates, was eventually executed 00:06:39.389 --> 00:06:42.860 by that same democracy. For Xenophon, the institutions 00:06:42.860 --> 00:06:45.699 of Athens had failed both politically and morally. 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:49.019 Which brings us to the ultimate inescapable paradox 00:06:49.019 --> 00:06:52.149 of his life. the Spartan paradox. You have this 00:06:52.149 --> 00:06:54.290 Athenian aristocrat philosophically educated 00:06:54.290 --> 00:06:57.050 in the greatest city -state who becomes the primary 00:06:57.050 --> 00:06:59.870 ally and chronicler of Sparta, Athens' mortal 00:06:59.870 --> 00:07:02.550 enemy, and the very power that crushed Athenian 00:07:02.550 --> 00:07:04.629 freedom. And the sources confirm this was more 00:07:04.629 --> 00:07:06.910 than just political convenience. It was intellectual 00:07:06.910 --> 00:07:09.569 admiration. Xenophon was looking for stability. 00:07:09.829 --> 00:07:12.089 He saw the corruption and volatility of Athens, 00:07:12.230 --> 00:07:14.410 and he contrasted it with the perceived order 00:07:14.410 --> 00:07:16.870 and severe discipline of the Lacedaemonian system. 00:07:17.050 --> 00:07:19.029 And this is our tremendous stroke of luck as 00:07:19.029 --> 00:07:22.389 historic beneficiaries. It is. Much of what we 00:07:22.389 --> 00:07:24.769 know about classical Spartan society, its unique 00:07:24.769 --> 00:07:26.990 institutions, its training systems, its kings, 00:07:27.209 --> 00:07:29.990 it comes directly from the writings of an Athenian 00:07:29.990 --> 00:07:32.829 expatriate who had an outsider's critical eye, 00:07:32.990 --> 00:07:36.509 but an insider's access. His treatise, Constitution 00:07:36.509 --> 00:07:38.970 of the Lacedaemonians, is probably the most critical 00:07:38.970 --> 00:07:41.870 text on Spartan life. It is. And it opens with 00:07:41.870 --> 00:07:44.110 that telling sentiment where he states he initially 00:07:44.110 --> 00:07:46.870 wondered why Sparta though among the most thinly 00:07:46.870 --> 00:07:49.730 populated of states, was evidently the most powerful 00:07:49.730 --> 00:07:52.790 and most celebrated city in Greece. The key phrase 00:07:52.790 --> 00:07:54.930 being, But when I considered the institutions 00:07:54.930 --> 00:07:58.370 of the Spartans, I wondered no longer. He was 00:07:58.370 --> 00:08:01.310 fascinated by their success, determined to sort 00:08:01.310 --> 00:08:03.310 of reverse engineer the political technology 00:08:03.310 --> 00:08:05.810 that created it. And his biography of King Aegisalus 00:08:05.810 --> 00:08:08.930 II further cements his loyalty, painting the 00:08:08.930 --> 00:08:12.230 Spartan king as this ideal leader. Right. This 00:08:12.230 --> 00:08:14.129 intellectual and military allegiance eventually 00:08:14.129 --> 00:08:16.829 led to his permanent exile. But before that, 00:08:16.990 --> 00:08:19.649 Xenophon embarked on a military adventure that 00:08:19.649 --> 00:08:22.850 would transform him from Socrates' student into 00:08:22.850 --> 00:08:24.629 one of the most celebrated battlefield commanders 00:08:24.629 --> 00:08:27.170 of the ancient world. And he had to cross an 00:08:27.170 --> 00:08:30.029 entire continent to earn that military reputation. 00:08:30.449 --> 00:08:33.049 An entire continent. Okay, here's where the story 00:08:33.049 --> 00:08:36.129 takes that sharp turn east. A story that defines 00:08:36.129 --> 00:08:40.169 the military side of his legacy. It's 401 BC. 00:08:40.809 --> 00:08:44.789 And Xenophon's friend, Proxenus of Boeotia, a 00:08:44.789 --> 00:08:47.409 captain leading Greek mercenaries, invites him 00:08:47.409 --> 00:08:50.450 to sail to Ephesus. But this wasn't really meant 00:08:50.450 --> 00:08:52.870 to be a military career move for Xenophon, was 00:08:52.870 --> 00:08:55.529 it? Not at all. He goes simply as a friend and 00:08:55.529 --> 00:08:58.149 advisor to Proxenus. He actually claims in his 00:08:58.149 --> 00:09:01.009 account, the Anabasis, that Socrates was wary 00:09:01.009 --> 00:09:03.669 of the trip and advised him to consult the oracle 00:09:03.669 --> 00:09:06.429 at Delphi. Right, but Xenophon, being eager to 00:09:06.429 --> 00:09:09.309 go, he only asked the Oracle which gods he should 00:09:09.309 --> 00:09:12.190 sacrifice to for a successful journey. Not whether 00:09:12.190 --> 00:09:15.509 he should go. Socrates later, you know, chastised 00:09:15.509 --> 00:09:17.669 him for predetermining the outcome. So he's already 00:09:17.669 --> 00:09:19.850 acting like a man who knows what he wants despite 00:09:19.850 --> 00:09:21.929 his philosophical training. And the political 00:09:21.929 --> 00:09:24.570 deception surrounding this expedition is just, 00:09:24.850 --> 00:09:27.789 it's magnificent. It is. The stated reason for 00:09:27.789 --> 00:09:29.970 the whole thing was fighting Tissaphernes, a 00:09:29.970 --> 00:09:32.330 regional Persian satrap who was being a nuisance. 00:09:32.590 --> 00:09:35.350 So the Greek mercenaries, the 10 ,000, they thought 00:09:35.350 --> 00:09:37.710 they were hired for a local skirmish in Ionia. 00:09:37.950 --> 00:09:40.980 Exactly. Xenophon and the whole army were thoroughly 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:43.220 misled. They were marching thousands of miles 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:45.740 inland all the way to Tarsus before the real 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:48.360 goal was revealed. Which was not a border skirmish. 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:51.120 It was a massive civil war. A civil war? Correct. 00:09:51.500 --> 00:09:53.580 Cyrus the Younger, the prince they were fighting 00:09:53.580 --> 00:09:56.440 for, intended to depose his older brother, King 00:09:56.440 --> 00:09:59.460 Artaxerxes II, the great king of the Achaemenid 00:09:59.460 --> 00:10:02.179 Empire. And this revelation caused immediate 00:10:02.179 --> 00:10:05.100 panic. Total panic and refusal among the troops, 00:10:05.259 --> 00:10:07.779 who realized they were now thousands of miles 00:10:07.779 --> 00:10:10.559 deep in hostile territory, marching to face the 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:13.500 full might of the Persian crown. It's the ultimate 00:10:13.500 --> 00:10:16.419 bait and switch, and the whole enterprise culminates 00:10:16.419 --> 00:10:19.799 at the Battle of Cunexa in 401 BC. The battle 00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:22.500 itself was a tactical draw, but a strategic disaster. 00:10:23.179 --> 00:10:25.620 The Greek phalanx won decisively against the 00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:28.379 Persian left flank. But Cyrus, in a reckless 00:10:28.379 --> 00:10:30.600 act, charged directly at his brother the king. 00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:32.980 And was killed. He was killed. And with Cyrus 00:10:32.980 --> 00:10:35.259 dead, the goal of the campaign just vanishes. 00:10:35.580 --> 00:10:37.960 Instantly. The 10 ,000 had won the battle but 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:40.799 lost the war. And then comes the act of treachery 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:42.980 that turns the entire story into a desperate 00:10:42.980 --> 00:10:45.700 survival epic. It's perhaps the most infamous 00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:48.600 betrayal in ancient history. The Greek generals, 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:51.379 including Xenophon's friend Proxinus and the 00:10:51.379 --> 00:10:54.019 Spartan general Clericus, were invited by Tissafernes, 00:10:54.080 --> 00:10:56.620 who pretended to negotiate a peaceful passage. 00:10:57.120 --> 00:10:59.700 home to a feast. And they were captured and promptly 00:10:59.700 --> 00:11:02.940 executed. Leaving the 10 ,000 leaderless, stranded 00:11:02.940 --> 00:11:05.700 near Mesopotamia, and surrounded by overwhelming 00:11:05.700 --> 00:11:09.080 enemy forces who were now actively pursuing them. 00:11:09.220 --> 00:11:11.019 And this is the moment, this is where the philosopher 00:11:11.019 --> 00:11:14.259 becomes the general, in this desperate chaos, 00:11:14.600 --> 00:11:18.299 who organizes the new command structure. Xenophon 00:11:18.299 --> 00:11:20.730 is elected as one of the new leaders. Suddenly, 00:11:20.789 --> 00:11:22.870 the Athenian intellectual who barely knew why 00:11:22.870 --> 00:11:25.669 he had sailed to Ephesus is now responsible for 00:11:25.669 --> 00:11:28.269 navigating 10 ,000 highly trained but terrified 00:11:28.269 --> 00:11:32.070 Greek soldiers on a 1 ,500 -mile march through 00:11:32.070 --> 00:11:34.549 enemy territory back toward the Black Sea. And 00:11:34.549 --> 00:11:37.250 this journey is the subject of his memoir, Anabasis, 00:11:37.490 --> 00:11:40.190 The Going Up. Yes. And the brilliance isn't just 00:11:40.190 --> 00:11:43.230 surviving. It's how they survived. This retreat 00:11:43.230 --> 00:11:45.710 is considered a revolution in tactical warfare. 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:49.100 The military historian Theodore Erol Dodge didn't 00:11:49.100 --> 00:11:51.860 mince words. He called Xenophon the father of 00:11:51.860 --> 00:11:54.799 the system of retreat. He did. Dodge argued that 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:56.919 the genius displayed by Xenophon in organizing 00:11:56.919 --> 00:11:59.779 this long retreat was never truly surpassed. 00:11:59.779 --> 00:12:02.220 And the sources show that Xenophon was forced 00:12:02.220 --> 00:12:04.980 to innovate immediately, adapting on the fly 00:12:04.980 --> 00:12:08.620 to Persian tactics. So what was his first immediate 00:12:08.620 --> 00:12:11.100 problem? The harassing Persian missile cavalry. 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:13.419 They're constantly peppering the Greek flanks 00:12:13.419 --> 00:12:15.960 and rear, taking advantage of the Greek hoplite's 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:18.259 lack of light missile -capable protection. So 00:12:18.259 --> 00:12:21.100 what's his solution? It was immediate and decisive. 00:12:21.419 --> 00:12:23.840 He reorganized the existing remaining troops. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:26.879 The sources indicate he formed a dedicated mobile 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:29.980 body of archers and light cavalry. Critically, 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:32.480 these were not just gathered. They were organized 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:35.379 as a new tactical counterforce. And it worked. 00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:38.139 The very next day. When the Persian cavalry approached, 00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:41.559 Xenophon unleashed this specialized force and 00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:44.120 they successfully routed the Persians. It was 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:46.279 the first instance of a Greek general establishing 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:49.299 an effective standing counter to enemy light 00:12:49.299 --> 00:12:51.860 forces. It's astonishing how quickly he applied 00:12:51.860 --> 00:12:54.320 practical solutions. He didn't just stop there, 00:12:54.440 --> 00:12:56.820 though. He redefined the internal structure of 00:12:56.820 --> 00:12:59.200 the fighting force. Yeah. Within the main phalanx 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:02.159 formation, the heavy infantry Xenophon is credited 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:04.700 as the first to establish a dedicated tactical 00:13:04.700 --> 00:13:07.360 reserve. A reserve force. What does that mean 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:09.340 in this context? This force was placed in the 00:13:09.340 --> 00:13:11.620 rear of the main line, and its entire purpose 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:14.159 was not to march or fight routinely, but to be 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:17.860 ready, mobilized, and instantly deployable to 00:13:17.860 --> 00:13:20.200 reinforce any weak parts of the line that started 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:22.779 to buckle under enemy pressure. For an audience 00:13:22.779 --> 00:13:25.159 today, a tactical reserve is fundamental military 00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:28.159 doctrine. But in ancient warfare, where the phalanx 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:31.039 was often just a solid block of men, this concept 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:34.279 of a flexible, mobile reserve was truly revolutionary. 00:13:34.620 --> 00:13:36.799 It injected elasticity into a rigid structure. 00:13:37.100 --> 00:13:39.559 And then there was the necessity of surviving 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:42.639 relentless pursuit, which forced him into the 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.039 most brutal of innovations. The scorched earth 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:48.590 policy. Dodge, again, noted that this was the 00:13:48.590 --> 00:13:50.850 first time a general had systematically used 00:13:50.850 --> 00:13:53.149 the devastation of the countryside, destroying 00:13:53.149 --> 00:13:56.529 villages and crops, to deprive a pursuing enemy 00:13:56.529 --> 00:13:59.649 of food and shelter, thereby stopping their advance. 00:14:00.029 --> 00:14:03.129 It's ruthless, but absolutely essential when 00:14:03.129 --> 00:14:05.250 you are the moving target and have no supply 00:14:05.250 --> 00:14:08.490 train. It's the cost of survival. And the necessity 00:14:08.490 --> 00:14:11.549 of innovation even extended to engineering. They 00:14:11.549 --> 00:14:14.210 were pursued and faced the massive obstacle of 00:14:14.210 --> 00:14:16.690 the Great Zab River. and the sources revealed 00:14:16.690 --> 00:14:18.769 the desperate measures they considered. Tell 00:14:18.769 --> 00:14:21.549 us again about that bizarre, discarded plan to 00:14:21.549 --> 00:14:23.929 cross the river. A man proposed they slaughter 00:14:23.929 --> 00:14:27.049 every animal they had, all the cows, goats, sheep, 00:14:27.110 --> 00:14:30.070 and donkeys, stuff the carcasses with hay, sew 00:14:30.070 --> 00:14:32.409 them up, and attempt to lay them across the river, 00:14:32.450 --> 00:14:34.330 covering them with dirt to make a floating bridge. 00:14:34.570 --> 00:14:37.370 A bridge made of dead animals. Seriously. The 00:14:37.370 --> 00:14:39.269 audacity of the improvisation is incredible. 00:14:39.470 --> 00:14:41.210 It just speaks volumes about their situation. 00:14:41.210 --> 00:14:43.470 They were truly operating on the razor's edge. 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:45.919 Thankfully, they managed to discard that plan 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:48.379 as impractical and eventually found a better 00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:50.940 way across. The physical journey itself reads 00:14:50.940 --> 00:14:53.120 like something out of high fantasy, particularly 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:55.279 their passage through the mountainous territory 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:58.639 of the Cardusians in modern southeastern Turkey. 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:01.259 This was historically known as death trap territory. 00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:04.779 The sources emphasize the historical warning. 00:15:05.370 --> 00:15:07.750 The great king himself had once sent an army 00:15:07.750 --> 00:15:11.370 of 120 ,000 men into that area to subdue the 00:15:11.370 --> 00:15:14.090 Cardusians. And not a single soldier ever returned 00:15:14.090 --> 00:15:17.389 home. Not one. So for Xenophon's depleted 10 00:15:17.389 --> 00:15:19.909 ,000, numbering maybe 10 ,000 fighting men, this 00:15:19.909 --> 00:15:22.149 was the moment of truth. So how does he navigate 00:15:22.149 --> 00:15:25.450 this impossible terrain against a hostile, fierce, 00:15:25.529 --> 00:15:27.870 and historically undefeated mountain tribe? With 00:15:27.870 --> 00:15:30.529 classic maneuver warfare. It's operational genius. 00:15:30.730 --> 00:15:33.149 The main Carduchian force was positioned perfectly, 00:15:33.350 --> 00:15:35.769 blocking the major pass. So Xenophon ordered 00:15:35.769 --> 00:15:38.970 the vast majority of his army, 8 ,000 men, to 00:15:38.970 --> 00:15:41.450 conduct a visible, loud feint at the main defile, 00:15:41.490 --> 00:15:44.090 keeping the enemy pinned. Right. And meanwhile, 00:15:44.370 --> 00:15:46.870 using intelligence from a captured prisoner, 00:15:47.090 --> 00:15:50.590 he took a smaller force of 2 ,000 men and, under 00:15:50.590 --> 00:15:53.389 the cover of a rainstorm, marched them to a secret, 00:15:53.529 --> 00:15:57.090 unguarded pass. He is using deception, intelligence, 00:15:57.169 --> 00:15:59.610 and even the weather to create a decisive advantage. 00:16:00.190 --> 00:16:02.710 By daylight, the smaller force was positioned 00:16:02.710 --> 00:16:05.629 to flank the main Carduchian host, forcing them 00:16:05.629 --> 00:16:08.070 to divide their defenses and exposing their weak 00:16:08.070 --> 00:16:12.090 points. Xenophon achieved what 120 ,000 men couldn't. 00:16:12.379 --> 00:16:14.419 He successfully passed through the Cardusian 00:16:14.419 --> 00:16:17.139 lands through mobility and surprise, with minimal 00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:19.820 losses. Eventually, after navigating more hostile 00:16:19.820 --> 00:16:22.480 forces and enduring an absolutely brutal winter 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:24.840 march through Armenia, where the sources describe 00:16:24.840 --> 00:16:26.759 them being totally unprepared with clothing, 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:29.200 they reached the coast. And we get that eternal 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:32.559 moment of relief. Their arrival at Trapezis on 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:35.019 the Black Sea coast. The famous shout, Thalata. 00:16:35.370 --> 00:16:38.529 The latter. The sea. The sea. A moment of pure, 00:16:38.669 --> 00:16:41.210 collective, desperate joy. Knowing they were 00:16:41.210 --> 00:16:43.070 finally back in sight of Greek trade routes. 00:16:43.330 --> 00:16:45.029 But even standing by the sea, they weren't done. 00:16:45.110 --> 00:16:48.110 They had one final major battle against the Colchians. 00:16:48.289 --> 00:16:51.289 And this final engagement gave Xenophon one last 00:16:51.289 --> 00:16:54.009 chance to showcase his mastery of deployment. 00:16:54.330 --> 00:16:56.830 He observed the Colchians attempting to overlap 00:16:56.830 --> 00:17:00.230 his lines. which was a standard tactic for numerically 00:17:00.230 --> 00:17:03.389 superior forces. So Xenophon decided to proactively 00:17:03.389 --> 00:17:06.369 counteract this by deploying his own hoplite 00:17:06.369 --> 00:17:09.349 line, extremely thin. So thin, in fact, that 00:17:09.349 --> 00:17:11.289 it overlapped the enemy's flanks. That seems 00:17:11.289 --> 00:17:13.690 incredibly risky, thinning your line on purpose. 00:17:13.849 --> 00:17:16.710 It was a calculated risk. By forcing the enemy 00:17:16.710 --> 00:17:19.670 to spread their army to cover the overlap, Xenophon 00:17:19.670 --> 00:17:21.829 deliberately engineered a weakness in the Colchian 00:17:21.829 --> 00:17:24.309 center. He then rushed his tactical reserves 00:17:24.309 --> 00:17:27.400 into that newly created gap. shattering the enemy 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:29.900 formation. It was a textbook application of using 00:17:29.900 --> 00:17:32.559 geometry and maneuver to defeat a more numerous 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:35.720 opponent. The entire retreat captured in Anabasis 00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:38.259 is more than a memoir. It's truly a foundational 00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:41.119 document in military history. So what's the ultimate 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:44.279 legacy of this experience? Its greatest legacy 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:47.640 is the operational template it provided. It proved 00:17:47.640 --> 00:17:50.339 definitively that highly trained, motivated Greek 00:17:50.339 --> 00:17:53.180 heavy infantry could penetrate deep into the 00:17:53.180 --> 00:17:56.450 seemingly limitless Achaemenid Empire. and not 00:17:56.450 --> 00:17:59.769 only survive, but conquer their way out. And 00:17:59.769 --> 00:18:01.730 the sources confirm that Xenophon's Anabasis 00:18:01.730 --> 00:18:04.609 became essential reading. It was used as a field 00:18:04.609 --> 00:18:06.769 guide by Alexander the Great during the early 00:18:06.769 --> 00:18:09.710 phases of his own expedition into Persia just 00:18:09.710 --> 00:18:12.849 over 60 years later. Xenophon mapped the route 00:18:12.849 --> 00:18:15.009 and provided the tactical blueprints for the 00:18:15.009 --> 00:18:17.470 greatest conqueror of the ancient world. The 00:18:17.470 --> 00:18:19.750 military adventure ends, but the story of the 00:18:19.750 --> 00:18:22.470 man continues. Xenophon and the remaining 10 00:18:22.470 --> 00:18:24.569 ,000 eventually make their way back to Greek 00:18:24.569 --> 00:18:27.630 lands, but they are still battle -hardened mercenaries. 00:18:27.710 --> 00:18:30.369 Right. They help local rulers, including Suthes 00:18:30.369 --> 00:18:33.289 II in Thrace, before ultimately committing themselves 00:18:33.289 --> 00:18:36.269 to Sparta, joining the Spartan general Thimbron 00:18:36.269 --> 00:18:39.759 in Pergamon around 399 BC. And this is the critical 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:41.599 period where his alliance with Sparta becomes 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:43.759 formal and permanent, providing him with the 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:46.119 stability and material necessary to start writing 00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:48.900 his histories. This decision leads directly to 00:18:48.900 --> 00:18:51.400 the creation of his major historical work, Hellenica. 00:18:51.539 --> 00:18:53.619 I think many people know him as the one who picked 00:18:53.619 --> 00:18:57.119 up the pen after Thucydides, right? Where exactly 00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:00.420 does the Hellenica begin and end? And what does 00:19:00.420 --> 00:19:02.740 it tell us about his perspective? The Hellenica 00:19:02.740 --> 00:19:04.880 starts with a really striking sentence, designed 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:08.150 for seamless continuity. It begins directly after 00:19:08.150 --> 00:19:10.509 the final incomplete sentence of Thucydides' 00:19:10.630 --> 00:19:12.970 history of the Peloponnesian War. So Thucydides' 00:19:13.069 --> 00:19:16.670 account ends abruptly around 411 BC. And Xenophon 00:19:16.670 --> 00:19:18.700 picks up the narrative. covering the last seven 00:19:18.700 --> 00:19:22.140 years of the war for 11404 BC, and then chronicles 00:19:22.140 --> 00:19:23.880 the subsequent four decades of Spartan supremacy, 00:19:24.359 --> 00:19:27.619 concluding in 362 BC. So he provides the full 00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:30.380 history of his native city's defeat and the ensuing 00:19:30.380 --> 00:19:33.240 40 years of Greek turmoil. But the nature of 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:35.759 his historical work is very different from Thucydides, 00:19:35.900 --> 00:19:38.359 isn't it? Oh, fundamentally so. Thucydides was 00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:40.940 the scientific historian concerned with causation, 00:19:41.079 --> 00:19:43.960 separating myth from fact, aiming for objective 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:47.549 political analysis. And Xenophon is what? a narrative 00:19:47.549 --> 00:19:50.089 historian. Exactly. He's focused on action, character, 00:19:50.230 --> 00:19:52.569 and moral lessons, and he is also transparently 00:19:52.569 --> 00:19:56.170 biased. Bias is inevitable, I suppose. But Xenophon 00:19:56.170 --> 00:19:58.869 was writing from a deeply personal place, often 00:19:58.869 --> 00:20:00.930 defending the actions of the Spartans or the 00:20:00.930 --> 00:20:04.190 generals he admired, like Agesilaus. Absolutely. 00:20:04.410 --> 00:20:07.210 The Hellenica is often criticized for its pro 00:20:07.210 --> 00:20:10.130 -Spartan tilt, or for omitting events that might 00:20:10.130 --> 00:20:13.200 embarrass Sparta or his allies. However, its 00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:15.680 value is immense because it covers a period that 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:18.200 would otherwise be nearly blank. He gives us 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:20.539 the detailed political maneuvering during the 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:23.059 rise and fall of Spartan supremacy. And he also 00:20:23.059 --> 00:20:25.299 continued his service in the field, even as he 00:20:25.299 --> 00:20:28.099 was likely compiling these notes. After Thimbron 00:20:28.099 --> 00:20:30.200 failed to capture Larissa, the Spartans replaced 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:32.779 him with Drusillidas. And Xenophon serves brilliantly 00:20:32.779 --> 00:20:35.640 under Drusillidas. This command change led to 00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:38.240 a highly successful campaign where Xenophon and 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:40.420 the army captured nine cities in Aeolus in a 00:20:40.420 --> 00:20:42.880 period of only eight days. Nine cities in eight 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:45.740 days. That astounding tempo speaks to the quality 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:48.759 of the Greek forces, but also to Ducilidus' effective 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:53.200 command. It does. And this success leads to the 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:56.119 Spartan effers finally clearing the 10 ,000 of 00:20:56.119 --> 00:20:59.240 any previous wrongdoing, essentially legitimizing 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:01.619 their mercenary status and incorporating them 00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:04.349 fully into the Spartan war machine. And there 00:21:04.349 --> 00:21:07.069 is that great anecdote about the shift in performance. 00:21:07.470 --> 00:21:10.029 It's a perfect commentary on leadership. The 00:21:10.029 --> 00:21:12.349 commander of the 10 ,000, whether it was Xenophon 00:21:12.349 --> 00:21:15.490 or one of his peers, addressed the Spartan authorities, 00:21:15.829 --> 00:21:17.650 explaining the difference between the failure 00:21:17.650 --> 00:21:20.470 under Thimbron and the success under Dursilidus. 00:21:20.630 --> 00:21:23.630 Right, he said. We are the same men now as we 00:21:23.630 --> 00:21:25.670 were last year, but the commander now is one 00:21:25.670 --> 00:21:28.589 man, Dursilidus, and in the past was another, 00:21:28.809 --> 00:21:31.759 Thimbron. And he concludes, Therefore, you are 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:34.099 at once able to judge for yourselves the reason 00:21:34.099 --> 00:21:36.480 why we are not at fault now, although we were 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:39.019 then. It's a concise thesis statement on the 00:21:39.019 --> 00:21:41.380 primacy of leadership. The quality of the troops 00:21:41.380 --> 00:21:43.839 is secondary to the quality of the general. This 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:46.440 must have reinforced Xenophon's burgeoning political 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:48.900 philosophy about the ideal ruler. It certainly 00:21:48.900 --> 00:21:51.680 did. This period led to his most loyal service. 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:58.279 And he served under Aegiseles from 396 to 394 00:21:58.279 --> 00:22:01.319 BC, traveling back with him to mainland Greece 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:04.380 for the pivotal conflict with Athens and Thebes. 00:22:04.619 --> 00:22:07.579 This was the decision that sealed his fate. He 00:22:07.579 --> 00:22:09.619 fought on the Spartan side against his native 00:22:09.619 --> 00:22:13.180 city in the Battle of Coronea in 394 BC. The 00:22:13.180 --> 00:22:16.940 final unforgivable act. Athens formally banished 00:22:16.940 --> 00:22:20.359 him for treasonously fighting against them. Xenophon 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:22.829 was now permanently in exile. a man without a 00:22:22.829 --> 00:22:25.410 city, having chosen Spartan order over Athenian 00:22:25.410 --> 00:22:27.930 democracy. But his exile was comfortable, at 00:22:27.930 --> 00:22:30.769 least initially. He follows Aegislus' march back 00:22:30.769 --> 00:22:33.029 to the Peloponnese and is granted an estate in 00:22:33.029 --> 00:22:36.190 Silis, near the sacred site of Olympia. And this 00:22:36.190 --> 00:22:38.630 is a 23 -year period in enforced leisure. And 00:22:38.630 --> 00:22:40.450 it's arguably the most productive time of his 00:22:40.450 --> 00:22:42.190 life as a writer. This is where he writes The 00:22:42.190 --> 00:22:44.309 Polity of the Lacedaemonians, his royal biography 00:22:44.309 --> 00:22:46.849 Aegislus, and all his highly practical philosophical 00:22:46.849 --> 00:22:49.329 and political works. He spends this time raising 00:22:49.329 --> 00:22:52.380 his family, hunting, Writing, he transforms from 00:22:52.380 --> 00:22:54.559 the active soldier into the reflective political 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:57.440 theorist. But even this peaceful period is interrupted 00:22:57.440 --> 00:23:00.480 by the volatile shifts of Greek power. The shifting 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:05.170 sands of power indeed. In 371 BC, Sparta suffers 00:23:05.170 --> 00:23:07.529 a decisive defeat against Thebes at the Battle 00:23:07.529 --> 00:23:10.470 of Lutra. Spartan power collapses. And the Aelians, 00:23:10.609 --> 00:23:13.369 sensing weakness in the region, confiscate Xenophon's 00:23:13.369 --> 00:23:16.289 estate at Silas. He loses his home and his land. 00:23:16.470 --> 00:23:19.430 The second exile, a quieter disaster. According 00:23:19.430 --> 00:23:22.470 to Diogenes Laertius, Xenophon moves to Corinth, 00:23:22.630 --> 00:23:24.990 where he spends his final years, likely dying 00:23:24.990 --> 00:23:28.730 there around 355 or 354 BC, having witnessed 00:23:28.730 --> 00:23:31.049 the complete rise and fall of the powers he served 00:23:31.049 --> 00:23:34.230 and admired. Athens, Sparta, and Cyrus' empire. 00:23:34.509 --> 00:23:36.829 His incredible trajectory speaks to a man seeking 00:23:36.829 --> 00:23:39.470 political stability and ethical guidance in a 00:23:39.470 --> 00:23:42.210 world defined by constant turmoil. Precisely. 00:23:42.230 --> 00:23:44.269 So now we grapple with the Xenophon who has moved 00:23:44.269 --> 00:23:46.890 beyond history and memoir and into deep political 00:23:46.890 --> 00:23:50.099 theory. This takes us to the Syropedia, the education 00:23:50.099 --> 00:23:52.640 of Cyrus. It's arguably his most ambitious and 00:23:52.640 --> 00:23:55.160 complex work, frequently cited as the conceptual 00:23:55.160 --> 00:23:57.240 architect for the European Mirror of Princes 00:23:57.240 --> 00:24:00.240 genre text, designed to provide a moral and practical 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:03.299 education for future rulers. It's basically political 00:24:03.299 --> 00:24:05.880 fiction disguised as history. That's a great 00:24:05.880 --> 00:24:08.420 way to put it. He takes Cyrus the Great, the 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:10.779 actual founder of the first Persian empire, and 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:13.759 creates an idealized composite figure. This Cyrus 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:17.769 is lofty. temperate, wise, educated, and essentially 00:24:17.769 --> 00:24:20.650 free of the typical corruption and petty jealousies 00:24:20.650 --> 00:24:23.470 that plague human leaders. He's outlining the 00:24:23.470 --> 00:24:26.930 perfect autocrat. He is. But the very act of 00:24:26.930 --> 00:24:29.809 creating an ideal ruler requires Xenophon to 00:24:29.809 --> 00:24:31.950 take historical liberties. And this is where 00:24:31.950 --> 00:24:33.809 the debate surrounding his political intent really 00:24:33.809 --> 00:24:36.410 begins, particularly concerning his divergence 00:24:36.410 --> 00:24:38.950 from Herodotus' historical account. Okay, so 00:24:38.950 --> 00:24:41.329 give us the specifics on that historical contradiction, 00:24:41.509 --> 00:24:43.809 particularly concerning the Medes and the Persians. 00:24:44.540 --> 00:24:47.140 Herodotus, the early Hearst historian, had established 00:24:47.140 --> 00:24:50.039 the generally accepted narrative. Cyrus the Great 00:24:50.039 --> 00:24:52.819 rebelled against his maternal grandfather, Astyages, 00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:55.960 who was the king of Media. Cyrus won, and the 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:57.740 Medes were consequently conquered and became 00:24:57.740 --> 00:25:00.960 slaves to the Persians. So a brutal, conquering 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:04.579 empire. Exactly. But Xenophon, writing decades 00:25:04.579 --> 00:25:07.380 later, offers a dramatically different narrative 00:25:07.380 --> 00:25:10.700 in Syropaedia. In his version, Astyages dies 00:25:10.700 --> 00:25:14.059 and is succeeded by Cyaxares II. Cyrus' maternal 00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:17.000 uncle. And crucially, Xenophon presents the Medes 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:19.740 as still being a major, powerful, independent 00:25:19.740 --> 00:25:22.920 kingdom led by Cyaxares. Right, with Cyrus leading 00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:26.059 the Persians as a crucial, but junior, partner. 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:28.920 They form an alliance to fight the Babylonians, 00:25:28.940 --> 00:25:32.220 which suggests partnership. not conquest so why 00:25:32.220 --> 00:25:34.680 bother changing that detail if he's writing historical 00:25:34.680 --> 00:25:37.980 fiction to praise a leader why disrupt the accepted 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:40.519 history of conquest because xenophon is setting 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:43.660 the stage for a subtle internal critique he wants 00:25:43.660 --> 00:25:45.759 the persian empire to appear founded on alliance 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:48.380 and consent which allows him to analyze how even 00:25:48.380 --> 00:25:51.250 a consent -based brilliantly led empire fails. 00:25:51.450 --> 00:25:53.569 But what's fascinating is that external evidence, 00:25:53.890 --> 00:25:56.650 unearthed much later, suggests Xenophon's version 00:25:56.650 --> 00:25:59.089 of the Medes' power might not be entirely fictional. 00:25:59.170 --> 00:26:01.849 You're referring to the Heron Steel. Yes. This 00:26:01.849 --> 00:26:04.910 Babylonian document dating to around 540 BC mentions 00:26:04.910 --> 00:26:07.809 the kings of the Medes as major enemies of Nabonidus, 00:26:07.809 --> 00:26:09.940 the Babylonian king. And the critical part is 00:26:09.940 --> 00:26:11.920 that this reference suggests the Medes were still 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:14.640 functioning as a major independent power just 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:17.500 before Babylon fell. They weren't slaves of the 00:26:17.500 --> 00:26:19.759 Persians for two decades, as Herodotus claimed. 00:26:20.099 --> 00:26:22.200 It suggests Xenophon might have been working 00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:25.220 from a different, perhaps Babylonian or Median, 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:28.059 source that viewed the two powers as more equal 00:26:28.059 --> 00:26:30.640 partners in the conquest of Babylon. Regardless 00:26:30.640 --> 00:26:32.680 of the historical accuracy, though, it allows 00:26:32.680 --> 00:26:35.019 Xenophon to build the foundation for his real 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:38.140 argument. Which is... If the empire is founded 00:26:38.140 --> 00:26:40.759 on virtue and partnership, yet still collapses, 00:26:41.019 --> 00:26:43.579 the problem must lie with the concept of empire 00:26:43.579 --> 00:26:46.240 itself. And that's the key scholarly interpretation, 00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:48.900 right? Championed by Leo Strauss and later David 00:26:48.900 --> 00:26:52.200 Johnson. They argue Xenophon uses this lavish 00:26:52.200 --> 00:26:55.220 praise of Cyrus to hide a profound critique of 00:26:55.220 --> 00:26:58.279 the very idea of expansive dominion. A critique 00:26:58.279 --> 00:27:01.200 aimed at the ambitions of Athens, Sparta, and 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:04.180 Persia alike. But wait, if he's praising Cyrus 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:07.079 so lavishly throughout the entire work, how can 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:09.619 we be sure he isn't just offering genuine, sincere 00:27:09.619 --> 00:27:12.400 leadership advice? Isn't that critique interpretation 00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:14.559 reliant on reading between the lines a little 00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:17.299 too much? It is reliant on reading between the 00:27:17.299 --> 00:27:20.599 lines, but the textual clues are highly specific 00:27:20.599 --> 00:27:23.549 and highly symbolic. Take the symbolism that 00:27:23.549 --> 00:27:26.250 Johnson identifies in a specific passage where 00:27:26.250 --> 00:27:29.029 Cyrus institutionalizes cavalry. Right. Cyrus 00:27:29.029 --> 00:27:31.329 states he wants every noble Persian to be seen 00:27:31.329 --> 00:27:33.589 only on horseback, never on foot, so that the 00:27:33.589 --> 00:27:36.049 composite image is always that of a centaur. 00:27:36.170 --> 00:27:38.990 A centaur. A mythological figure that embodies 00:27:38.990 --> 00:27:42.619 the unstable dichotomy of man and beast. Xenophon, 00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:45.039 the ultimate Athenian intellectual, is choosing 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:47.420 an image that was used in post -Persian war Greek 00:27:47.420 --> 00:27:50.980 propaganda, the Centauromachy, to symbolize conflict 00:27:50.980 --> 00:27:53.380 and instability. So he's saying this empire looks 00:27:53.380 --> 00:27:55.500 glorious, but its foundation is fundamentally 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:58.380 unstable and hybrid. That's the argument. The 00:27:58.380 --> 00:28:00.680 centaur symbolizes the volatile alliance of the 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:03.019 Persians and the Medes, held together only by 00:28:03.019 --> 00:28:06.259 Cyrus's singular, overwhelming personality. By 00:28:06.259 --> 00:28:08.119 showing the empire's swift decline immediately 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:11.059 after Cyrus's death, a historical fact Xenophon 00:28:11.059 --> 00:28:13.519 himself admits, he demonstrates that empires 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:15.819 inherently lack stability. They rely entirely 00:28:15.819 --> 00:28:18.240 on a single person of remarkable prowess. The 00:28:18.240 --> 00:28:21.559 implicit critique is devastating. If even the 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:24.339 ideal leader cannot create a lasting, stable 00:28:24.339 --> 00:28:27.380 institution, then perhaps the institution itself 00:28:27.380 --> 00:28:30.660 is flawed. It's a warning against imperial ambition, 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:33.200 regardless of whether that ambition is democratic, 00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:36.440 like Athens, or oligarchic, like Sparta. And 00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:38.660 the critique goes even deeper, targeting the 00:28:38.660 --> 00:28:40.960 corruption of the elite under imperial rule, 00:28:41.180 --> 00:28:43.900 which relates to the transition from homo temoi 00:28:43.900 --> 00:28:46.319 to ontemoi. Okay, break that down for us. What 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:48.740 does it actually mean? Homo temoi literally means 00:28:48.740 --> 00:28:52.380 peers or equal honors. These were the original 00:28:52.380 --> 00:28:55.180 elite heavy infantry of the Persians, educated 00:28:55.180 --> 00:28:57.700 and rigorously trained, who initially shared 00:28:57.700 --> 00:29:00.220 the spoils of war equally based on their status. 00:29:00.359 --> 00:29:02.880 They were the educated meritocratic core. But 00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:05.400 as Cyrus expanded and faced overwhelming numbers, 00:29:05.640 --> 00:29:08.180 he had to arm the commoners with the same heavy 00:29:08.180 --> 00:29:10.279 infantry gear, which essentially leveled the 00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:13.089 military playing field. Exactly. This immediately 00:29:13.089 --> 00:29:15.430 sparked an argument over how to split the spoils. 00:29:15.529 --> 00:29:18.309 And Cyrus, wanting to reward bravery, enforced 00:29:18.309 --> 00:29:20.710 a strict meritocracy based purely on battlefield 00:29:20.710 --> 00:29:23.170 performance. Which sounds fair on the surface 00:29:23.170 --> 00:29:25.869 rewarding skill. But Xenophon suggests it actually 00:29:25.869 --> 00:29:29.829 causes the system to rot. How? Because the Homo 00:29:29.829 --> 00:29:32.670 Tomoi realized that their specialized military 00:29:32.670 --> 00:29:35.710 training was no longer the sole advantage, their 00:29:35.710 --> 00:29:38.930 difference now lay primarily in their education 00:29:38.930 --> 00:29:42.460 and status. When meritocracy became purely performance 00:29:42.460 --> 00:29:45.380 -based, they lost their status advantage. So 00:29:45.380 --> 00:29:47.519 they realized that the way to achieve honor, 00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:50.279 timo, was no longer through adherence to their 00:29:50.279 --> 00:29:52.640 educational principles. But through directly 00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:56.339 ingratiating themselves to the emperor for positions, 00:29:56.660 --> 00:29:59.279 honors, and rewards. So they stopped being peers 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:01.400 operating under a shared code and start becoming 00:30:01.400 --> 00:30:04.640 flatterers. Precisely. They transition from homicumoi, 00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:07.299 equal honors, to untimoi, having to begin to 00:30:07.299 --> 00:30:09.819 get the honor. Xenophon shows how the concentration 00:30:09.819 --> 00:30:11.960 of reward structures in the hands of the single 00:30:11.960 --> 00:30:14.519 autocrat forces the elite to become courtiers 00:30:14.519 --> 00:30:17.380 and sycophants rather than virtuous peers. Which 00:30:17.380 --> 00:30:19.599 guarantees the long -term instability and corruption 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:21.740 of the regime. Proving that even the most benevolent 00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:24.250 autocracy eventually leads to decay. That's a 00:30:24.250 --> 00:30:26.349 stunning realization, especially coming from 00:30:26.349 --> 00:30:28.789 a man who served Spartan tings and worked alongside 00:30:28.789 --> 00:30:32.549 autocrats. Xenophon used the ideal leader to 00:30:32.549 --> 00:30:34.869 demonstrate the inevitable failure of centralized 00:30:34.869 --> 00:30:37.289 power. It connects right back to his life experience. 00:30:37.630 --> 00:30:40.450 He saw Athenian democracy corrupted by mass whim, 00:30:40.650 --> 00:30:43.450 Spartan oligarchy corrupted by hubris, and now 00:30:43.450 --> 00:30:46.130 through Cyrus, the absolute failure of imperial 00:30:46.130 --> 00:30:48.950 virtue to sustain itself after the death of the 00:30:48.950 --> 00:30:52.170 singular genius. We owe Xenophon a huge debt, 00:30:52.289 --> 00:30:54.349 not just for history, and political theory, but 00:30:54.349 --> 00:30:56.490 for our fundamental understanding of his teacher. 00:30:56.849 --> 00:30:59.930 If Plato's works vanished, Xenophon's Socratic 00:30:59.930 --> 00:31:02.609 writings would be essential for us to truly comprehend 00:31:02.609 --> 00:31:04.589 Socrates. Oh, they're absolutely foundational. 00:31:04.970 --> 00:31:08.309 We have his primary Socratic works, the Memorabilia, 00:31:08.390 --> 00:31:10.509 which acts as a defense of Socrates outside of 00:31:10.509 --> 00:31:12.609 the courtroom, detailing his moral principles 00:31:12.609 --> 00:31:14.390 and arguing he never corrupted the earth. And 00:31:14.390 --> 00:31:16.829 the Apology, Xenophon's version of Socrates' 00:31:16.970 --> 00:31:19.329 defense during the trial itself. And the Apology 00:31:19.329 --> 00:31:21.089 is where we encounter one of the most intriguing 00:31:21.089 --> 00:31:24.369 debates in classical philosophy. The stark difference 00:31:24.369 --> 00:31:27.529 between Xenophon's and Plato's depiction of Socrates' 00:31:27.710 --> 00:31:29.910 demeanor during the trial. This is a point that 00:31:29.910 --> 00:31:32.529 requires careful consideration because Xenophon 00:31:32.529 --> 00:31:34.849 wasn't actually in Athens for the trial. No, 00:31:34.890 --> 00:31:36.910 he was already on campaign in Anatolia with Cyrus. 00:31:37.509 --> 00:31:40.269 However, his account asserts that Socrates appeared 00:31:40.269 --> 00:31:43.369 exceedingly arrogant in court, perhaps even actively 00:31:43.369 --> 00:31:46.430 striving for death. Striving for death? Why would 00:31:46.430 --> 00:31:48.970 Xenophon suggest his revered teacher was almost 00:31:48.970 --> 00:31:52.109 challenging the jury to condemn him? Xenophon 00:31:52.109 --> 00:31:55.650 posits that Socrates, having lived a long, morally 00:31:55.650 --> 00:31:58.789 upright and philosophically rigorous life, felt 00:31:58.789 --> 00:32:01.130 that death was the preferred outcome over any 00:32:01.130 --> 00:32:04.049 form of compromise or continued existence in 00:32:04.049 --> 00:32:06.829 a world he deemed unjust. So for Xenophon, the 00:32:06.829 --> 00:32:09.049 defense wasn't a genuine attempt to win freedom, 00:32:09.190 --> 00:32:12.369 but a final rhetorical demonstration. A refusal 00:32:12.369 --> 00:32:15.210 to beg the jury and a choice to leave the world 00:32:15.210 --> 00:32:17.369 on his own terms, preserving his intellectual 00:32:17.369 --> 00:32:19.750 integrity. So he viewed Socrates' failure to 00:32:19.750 --> 00:32:22.349 mount a fully convincing defense not as a tactical 00:32:22.349 --> 00:32:25.049 error, but as a deliberate, powerful rhetorical 00:32:25.049 --> 00:32:28.029 choice, a final, grand philosophical statement. 00:32:28.430 --> 00:32:31.069 Precisely. Plato, who is present at the trial, 00:32:31.210 --> 00:32:34.170 felt compelled to soften that perceived arrogance. 00:32:34.769 --> 00:32:37.029 Plato's Socrates presents a high moral standard, 00:32:37.210 --> 00:32:39.670 but frames it more as an inescapable consequence 00:32:39.670 --> 00:32:42.349 of living a virtuous life rather than a willful 00:32:42.349 --> 00:32:44.650 embrace of death. Xenophon's depiction suggests 00:32:44.650 --> 00:32:47.470 a more dramatic, almost theatrical conclusion 00:32:47.470 --> 00:32:50.690 designed to emphasize Socrates' absolute moral 00:32:50.690 --> 00:32:53.849 superiority over his judges. Right. And beyond 00:32:53.849 --> 00:32:56.349 the drama of the trial, Xenophon gives us access 00:32:56.349 --> 00:33:01.730 to Socrates' more grounded practice. The best 00:33:01.730 --> 00:33:04.630 example is the Economicus, which is a Socratic 00:33:04.630 --> 00:33:06.670 dialogue that is focused entirely on practical 00:33:06.670 --> 00:33:09.130 household management, estate finances, and the 00:33:09.130 --> 00:33:11.809 principles of agriculture. It shows Socrates 00:33:11.809 --> 00:33:14.170 engaging with the everyday concerns of an Athenian 00:33:14.170 --> 00:33:16.289 gentleman, demonstrating that philosophy extended 00:33:16.289 --> 00:33:18.750 to efficiency and good stewardship. Then there 00:33:18.750 --> 00:33:20.950 is the Symposium, a different kind of banquet 00:33:20.950 --> 00:33:23.569 from Plato's version. Xenophon's Symposium is 00:33:23.569 --> 00:33:25.490 a dialogue where Socrates and his companions 00:33:25.490 --> 00:33:28.769 discuss what attributes they take pride in. While 00:33:28.769 --> 00:33:31.710 highly philosophical, it also contains a frank 00:33:31.710 --> 00:33:34.170 discussion concerning the nature of loving relationships, 00:33:34.410 --> 00:33:37.109 specifically noble versus base relationships, 00:33:37.430 --> 00:33:39.650 which included the dynamics between a wealthy 00:33:39.650 --> 00:33:42.549 aristocrat and a young boy present at the banquet. 00:33:42.940 --> 00:33:45.180 It explores the moral boundaries and ethics of 00:33:45.180 --> 00:33:48.160 desire and pride. Yes. And finally, the hero, 00:33:48.400 --> 00:33:50.480 which must have resonated deeply with Xenophon 00:33:50.480 --> 00:33:53.259 after his exposure to Cyrus and Ojasalais. The 00:33:53.259 --> 00:33:55.839 hero is a fascinating discussion between Hero, 00:33:55.980 --> 00:33:58.359 the tyrant of Syracuse, and the famous lyric 00:33:58.359 --> 00:34:01.339 poet Simonides of Sios. And they debate the nature 00:34:01.339 --> 00:34:03.940 of happiness, questioning whether absolute political 00:34:03.940 --> 00:34:07.039 power, the life of the tyrant, truly leads to 00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:09.880 happiness, or if it leads to inescapable fear, 00:34:10.079 --> 00:34:13.210 isolation, and misery. It serves as a philosophical 00:34:13.210 --> 00:34:15.929 justification for Xenophon's political skepticism 00:34:15.929 --> 00:34:18.329 found in this Iropedia. It's crucial to remember 00:34:18.329 --> 00:34:20.429 that Xenophon wrote many of these works during 00:34:20.429 --> 00:34:22.849 his 23 years of enforced leisure and retirement 00:34:22.849 --> 00:34:26.650 on his estate in Silas. And those years, dedicated 00:34:26.650 --> 00:34:28.869 to the pursuits of the aristocratic country gentleman, 00:34:29.070 --> 00:34:31.849 gave rise to his short, practical treatises. 00:34:32.409 --> 00:34:35.449 This is Xenophon, the man of action, applying 00:34:35.449 --> 00:34:38.150 his rigorous analytical mind to his favorite 00:34:38.150 --> 00:34:41.079 hobbies. He compiled what we might call the ultimate 00:34:41.079 --> 00:34:43.179 gentleman's reading list for the classical world, 00:34:43.320 --> 00:34:46.280 starting with his passion for horses. Absolutely. 00:34:46.380 --> 00:34:49.159 He wrote On Horsemanship, which is a detailed 00:34:49.159 --> 00:34:52.139 manual on how to break, train, and care for horses, 00:34:52.340 --> 00:34:56.000 a testament to his cavalry experience. And Hipparchikos, 00:34:56.119 --> 00:34:58.679 a treatise specifically outlining the duties, 00:34:58.800 --> 00:35:01.199 strategies, and responsibilities of a cavalry 00:35:01.199 --> 00:35:03.320 officer. And his love of the country life is 00:35:03.320 --> 00:35:06.079 preserved in Hunting with Dogs. The Synergeticus. 00:35:06.380 --> 00:35:08.699 which details the proper methods and advantages 00:35:08.699 --> 00:35:11.480 of hunting, not just as a sport, but as a moral 00:35:11.480 --> 00:35:13.840 discipline that prepares men for war and provides 00:35:13.840 --> 00:35:16.300 wholesome aristocratic leisure. It's a unified 00:35:16.300 --> 00:35:18.869 worldview. a blend of Socratic discipline and 00:35:18.869 --> 00:35:20.929 Spartan rigor applied to the practical matters 00:35:20.929 --> 00:35:23.650 of life and warfare. Even in his final years, 00:35:23.949 --> 00:35:26.909 after his estate was confiscated, he never stopped 00:35:26.909 --> 00:35:29.730 trying to influence governance. He wrote Ways 00:35:29.730 --> 00:35:32.329 and Means, a treatise discussing practical solutions 00:35:32.329 --> 00:35:34.610 for Athens to deal with financial and economic 00:35:34.610 --> 00:35:37.469 crises. He was trying to advise the city that 00:35:37.469 --> 00:35:39.710 had banished him. He was a political animal to 00:35:39.710 --> 00:35:41.929 the end. Before we conclude, we should briefly 00:35:41.929 --> 00:35:45.570 clarify one historical misconception. The treatise 00:35:45.570 --> 00:35:47.949 Constitution of the Athenians, which was once 00:35:47.949 --> 00:35:50.230 attributed to him. That's the one we know was 00:35:50.230 --> 00:35:53.230 written by the old oligarch. Modern scholarship 00:35:53.230 --> 00:35:55.269 is certain Xenophon didn't write it primarily 00:35:55.269 --> 00:35:57.210 because it was written when he was only about 00:35:57.210 --> 00:35:59.329 five years old. It's an interesting counterpoint, 00:35:59.369 --> 00:36:02.269 though. It is. That document critiques Periclean 00:36:02.269 --> 00:36:05.210 institutions, but ironically argues they were 00:36:05.210 --> 00:36:07.369 perfectly designed for their purpose, serving 00:36:07.369 --> 00:36:09.650 the political and economic interests of the poorer 00:36:09.650 --> 00:36:12.730 classes. But Xenophon was not the author of that 00:36:12.730 --> 00:36:16.159 particular cynical early critique. So what does 00:36:16.159 --> 00:36:18.440 this extraordinary trajectory tell us about the 00:36:18.440 --> 00:36:21.119 man known as the Attic Muse? We have followed 00:36:21.119 --> 00:36:23.480 him from the politically chaotic streets of Athens 00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:26.320 to the deserts of Mesopotamia, from the fields 00:36:26.320 --> 00:36:29.519 of Silas to the Spartan courts. He was the quintessential 00:36:29.519 --> 00:36:32.340 utility player of antiquity. He was the military 00:36:32.340 --> 00:36:34.460 leader who revolutionized the tactical retreat, 00:36:34.659 --> 00:36:36.840 the philosopher who captured the moral core of 00:36:36.840 --> 00:36:39.440 Socrates, and the historian who provided the 00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:41.940 crucial bridge for Greek history after Thucydides. 00:36:42.489 --> 00:36:45.030 His ability to synthesize moral philosophy with 00:36:45.030 --> 00:36:48.110 battlefield pragmatism is truly unparalleled. 00:36:48.190 --> 00:36:50.530 And in his political theory, he used the image 00:36:50.530 --> 00:36:53.849 of Cyrus the Great to subtly warn us. He demonstrated 00:36:53.849 --> 00:36:56.429 that no matter how virtuous, no matter how disciplined, 00:36:56.610 --> 00:36:59.309 expansive empires and highly centralized power 00:36:59.309 --> 00:37:02.550 structures are inherently unstable and prone 00:37:02.550 --> 00:37:05.289 to corruption and decay. His ideas on leadership. 00:37:05.800 --> 00:37:08.099 particularly those found in Syropedia linking 00:37:08.099 --> 00:37:10.539 a strong moral code and education to effective 00:37:10.539 --> 00:37:14.000 rule, are why he's still studied intensely today 00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:16.000 by studies of political science and military 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:18.880 strategy. He forced his readers to question not 00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:21.579 just the leader, but the system itself. He lived 00:37:21.579 --> 00:37:23.800 through the collapse of Athens' democracy, the 00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:26.699 failure of Spartan oligarchy, and observed firsthand 00:37:26.699 --> 00:37:29.300 the ultimate limits of boundless expansion in 00:37:29.300 --> 00:37:32.079 Persia. Which brings us to our final provocative 00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:33.900 thought for you to consider as you reflect on 00:37:33.900 --> 00:37:36.460 Xenophon's immense legacy. He was permanently 00:37:36.460 --> 00:37:39.280 banished by his birthplace, Athens, for fighting 00:37:39.280 --> 00:37:42.619 alongside Sparta. He spent his long life writing 00:37:42.619 --> 00:37:45.960 about the ideal leader, Cyrus, and the ideal 00:37:45.960 --> 00:37:49.219 state, Sparta, both of whom ultimately failed 00:37:49.219 --> 00:37:52.059 spectacularly to maintain long -term stability. 00:37:52.480 --> 00:37:55.280 He had detailed intimate exposure to the political 00:37:55.280 --> 00:37:57.480 failures of every major system of governance 00:37:57.480 --> 00:38:00.500 in the classical world democracy oligarchy and 00:38:00.500 --> 00:38:04.269 expansive empire. So What lesson was Xenophon 00:38:04.269 --> 00:38:06.409 really trying to teach us? Was he advocating 00:38:06.409 --> 00:38:08.909 for one flawed system over the others? Or was 00:38:08.909 --> 00:38:10.730 he simply concluding that political stability 00:38:10.730 --> 00:38:13.449 is ultimately impossible without the constant, 00:38:13.570 --> 00:38:15.969 active, and highly exceptional presence of a 00:38:15.969 --> 00:38:18.949 single virtuous man? And if the latter is true... 00:38:19.050 --> 00:38:21.869 If true stability is purely reliant on the unique 00:38:21.869 --> 00:38:25.190 genius of a single irreplaceable person, what 00:38:25.190 --> 00:38:27.489 hope do we have for designing sustainable long 00:38:27.489 --> 00:38:29.250 -term institutions today that don't immediately 00:38:29.250 --> 00:38:31.789 devolve into corruption and conflict when that 00:38:31.789 --> 00:38:34.349 single genius inevitably leaves the stage? Think 00:38:34.349 --> 00:38:36.849 about that paradox of genius versus system as 00:38:36.849 --> 00:38:39.070 you continue your own deep dive into the histories 00:38:39.070 --> 00:38:41.409 of the ancient world. Thanks for joining us for 00:38:41.409 --> 00:38:42.789 the deep dive. We'll see you next time.