Xenophon’s anabasis : The First War Memoir

Abstract

The Anabasis has long resisted definitive classification. Scholars have seen it as a philosophical tract, an apologia , an ethno-geographical treatise, and a commentary on a military campaign, among other proposals. While it contains elements of many such works, the Anabasis most closely resembles the highly personal modern war memoir as defined by Samuel Hynes. After books one and two set the stage, the narrative focuses exclusively on Xenophon and records his transformation from an untried nobody into a respected and well-known commander.