The long way home; Anabasis, Xenophon

Why you might read Anabasis?

Anabasis is a concise telling of the Greek expedition into Persia and their journey home. They are following Cyrus the would-be Persian King.  

For history, it is an easy read and gives great insight into the life of Xenophon. This knowledge will give some insight into his philosophical works. Overall, it builds into the understanding of the ongoing conflicts between Greece and Persia.

Synopsis of Anabasis

Book I: 

 The first book outlines how Cyrus gathers an army and marches for the capital. He goes to face his older brother who is king. Cyrus is trying to stage a coup. Xenophone gives details of the origin of each section of troops. This includes a sizeable Greek contingent. Their march inland to Babylon is told in great detail. This consists of the distances between the cities in which they stopped. It ends with the battle between Cyrus and the King and how different parts of the army succeed on both sides. In the end, however, Cyrus dies

Book II:

This book outlines the talks between the Greeks and the King. There is much going back and forth. The Greeks as cut off, surrounded by enemy territory. And so they try to get peace but come from a prideful situation. They see themselves as the victors of the battle and so will not surrender arms. Talks go back and forward. Eventually, the King showed his hand by executing almost all the generals of the Greeks. 

Book III:

his book details the regrouping of the Greek force under new leadership. This includes Xenophon himself. This only happens after everyone is despondent for a while. After much discussion, they resolve to fight their way home. They head off in a box formation with the baggage in the centre. They burn the wagons, the tents, and anything that might be excess to need. They skirmish with the king's forces a couple of times. They are outmatched without archers and cavalry. They remedy this by pulling men from the baggage train that can use slings. As well as using captured horses that were being used as beasts of burden repurposed as cavalry. From here they back themselves into a corner up a valley and have to come back out. They resolve to go north after hearing reports from locals. 

Book IV:

This book details the flight north of the Greek army. They proceed to the headwaters of both the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Large portions go past without getting more than a mention. Xenophon however goes into detail on battles including the taking of a stronghold. He also notes the men's reaction to finally seeing the sea. They start shouting and running until the entire army is on top of a mountain and can see the sea. The peoples they meet on the way are a mix of friendly and set on war. That being said almost every time a dialogue can be established there is an oath sworn not to burn the villages. These the Greeks happily swear and are happy to keep as they have no quarrel with the inhabitants.

Book V:

This book details the attempt to go home by the sea and the eventual march by land. The men upon reaching the sea lose their will to walk. But after not enough boats can be retrieved to carry the army and provisions run low they must move on by foot. The peoples they find are a mix of friendly and unfriendly. This is generally determined by if they are barbarians or a greek colony. Much thought is put into how to get some plunder and not go back to Greece empty-handed. 

Book VI:

his book details the continuation of the move through the outer greek territories. It also includes the separation and reformation of the army. The army first decides to appoint a commander. And do away with the council of generals they currently have. Xenophon is the candidate they want but he does not want the job. Within a week of appointing a commander, the army splits into 3 by racial lines. One goes by sea and is fine, two go by land. One runs into the enemy and is surrounded by the enemy. Xenophon commanding the other land force goes to their aid. After rescuing this part the army reforms and gives pledges not to break up again. 

Book VII:

This book details the expedition in Thrace for pay. Xenophon had great difficulty persuading the employing king to pay the soldiers. Even though it had been promised. Xenophon by this point wanted to leave the army and proceed home alone. However, circumstances and sacrifices kept him at the head of the army. Until the Lacedemonian generals take over at the entry to Greece to start another war. The book ends with a list of the countries they have travelled through and a total time of 1 year and 3 months. 

Reflections on Anabasis

Interestingly, Xenophon chooses to tell this story from a third-person perspective. It is easy due to this to forget that he wrote it. As a modern reader, I wonder if that was done to try and hide the bias in the telling. Either that or if it was the done thing for histories at the time of writing.

The problem of feeding and paying the army is a major issue throughout the whole campaign. This is especially true after the death of Cyrus. It has always been true that an army marches on its stomach. The occasional offers of others to pay the army is interesting, even if they don't tend to follow through. It also lead to some interesting decisions about the route. It was often better to march through hostile territory so that you could take from the villages. by comparison, if you went through friendly land where you had to pay for your food. After a long march, there was no money to hand so taking from the land became more and more necessary.

Xenophone ending up in charge of the army is interesting as well as he does not really seem qualified. He is rather is placed there when the generals are killed by the Persian King. He seems to do a really good job considering the situation. The only thing anyone can accuse him of is that he is overly fond of the soldiers and wants them to get their pay. At no point do they face an army on the same terms though. They are too big and manage to scare off opponents rather than facing them.

What others have to say about Anabasis

"It contains a famous account of the mercenaries’ long trek (“the march of the 10,000”) from near Babylon to the Euxine (Black Sea) after Cyrus’s defeat at the Battle of Cunaxa (401 BC). Xenophon, who had accompanied the force in a private capacity, was largely responsible for their successful retreat through his resourcefulness and courage.

It is likely that the Anabasis, which was initially published under the pseudonym Themistogenes of Syracuse, was composed some 20 years after the events it describes. Textual evidence suggests that it was subsequently revised." From Brittanica

"Anabasis is a classic story of an army’s retreat from disaster, told by the man who was thrust into the role of saving it. Anabasis means “march inland from the coast,” which is a paradoxical title for a book that is mostly about a march to the coast from inland" From The Hoover Institute

Comparisons to other texts

While this march is of epic proportions this book is a history rather than an epic. It details more of the politics and the discussions than it does the fighting. By comparison, the Illiad is far more focused on the battles and the heroic actions undertaken in the fighting. but unlike the Illiad, the force is moving. First, they head inland to Babylon and then north to the sea and back to Greece. Also, they generally don't face opposing armies in battle after the first battle with the King.

It is much shorter and more readable than The Histories. It only has to cover the politics of one camp. It has far fewer conflicts and doesn't go into much detail about the battles. As such it doesn't get bogged down as often. In a way, these two texts tell the opposite story. The Histories tell of the Persian invasion of Greece and Anabasis the invasion of Persia by a Greek army.

Like The Peloponnesian War, the author lived through the conflict. But unlike it, the author himself is a major player rather than just a bit part. Due to this, we get a lot more speeches to the troops. As well as more discussions that lead to the decisions than we do in the Peloponnesian War.

Conclusion

Anabasis is a good read, giving us the original telling of the March of the 10,000. It gives us insight into a portion of the life of Xenophon. Showing us how armies with multiple generals could make command decisions. It details the hardship of being stranded without a benefactor. But it also shows the tenacity of the greek soldiers in getting home again.

Have you read Anabasis? If so what did you think of it? 

 

Want to read Anabasis but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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