IV. The City

Abstract

Although Xenophon spent much of his adult life living outside Athens and the polis framework, Athens itself and the city as the basis for achieving the good life were central to his thought, both philosophical and practical. He keenly observed the practices of other communities, especially Sparta, long a source of fascination for Athens’ elite. He compared the impact of different customs and forms of rule on cities such as Sparta (Constitution of the Lacedaimonians, Agesilaus), Syracuse (Hiero), and his imagined Persia and Babylon (Cyropaedia). Some of his thought on constructing political communities is contained in his politeia texts (LP; Cyr. 1.2), but his most sustained and systematic engagement with the topic is through Socrates’ conversations with Athenians in Book 3 of the Memorabilia.