The Cambridge Companion to Xenophon

Description

This Companion, the first dedicated to the philosopher and historian Xenophon of Athens, gives readers a sense of why he has held such a prominent place in literary and political culture from antiquity to the present and has been a favourite author of individuals as diverse as Machiavelli, Thomas Jefferson, and Leo Tolstoy. It also sets out the major problems and issues that are at stake in the study of his writings, while simultaneously pointing the way forward to newer methodologies, issues, and questions. Although Xenophon's historical, philosophical, and technical works are usually studied in isolation because they belong to different modern genres, the emphasis here is on themes that cut across his large and varied body of writings. This volume is accessible to students and general readers, including those previously unfamiliar with Xenophon, and will also be of interest to scholars in various fields.

Michael A. Flower is Professor of Classics at Princeton University. His major research and teaching interests are in ancient Greek history, historiography, and religion. He is the author of Theopompus of Chios: History and Rhetoric in the Fourth Century BC (1994), Herodotus, Histories, Book IX (with John Marincola, 2002), The Seer in Ancient Greece (2008) and Xenophon's Anabasis, or the Expedition of Cyrus (2012), and the co-editor (with Mark Toher) of Georgica: Greek Studies in Honour of George Cawkwell (1991).

'The volume approaches Xenophon's writing from a variety of perspectives, with a goal of accounting for him as a thinker who transcends disciplinary lines.' CHOICE 'It fills a major gap in the literature by offering a conspectus of Xenophon's works and career that will both interest specialists and serve the needs of generalists. ... The Cambridge Companion will render Xenophon more accessible and interesting to scholars who, despite the recent renaissance in Xenophontic scholarship, might still be put off by this Athenian stranger's stodgy reputation.' Martin Devecka, Bryn Mawr Classical Review