Xenophon the Socratic Prince: The Argument of the Anabasis of Cyrus (Recovering Political Philosophy)

The Anabasis of Cyrus is Xenophon's counterpart to Machiavelli's Prince. The work explores the political life at its peak, examining whether morality and advantage can be reconciled in and through rule. Of the three model rulers presented in the work, the most important is Xenophon himself. He is depicted as leaving his teacher Socrates to become the leader of Ten Thousand Greek mercenaries. How did his Socratic education help him reconcile morality with advantage? The Anabasis is an exciting chronicle of the march to 'The Sea! The Sea!' It is also a searching analysis of the political significance of the Socratic education as well as an introduction to the comparative merits of the political and the philosophic lives.