A Brilliant Brain

Biography

Xenophon was a Greek general and historian who led 10,000 Greek mercenaries on a legendary retreat across hostile Persian territory, a journey he immortalized in his masterwork 'Anabasis.' His vivid firsthand accounts of military strategy, leadership, and survival established him as both a pioneering military theorist and one of antiquity's most influential historians.

Key Facts

• Led the famous retreat of 10,000 Greek soldiers (the 'Ten Thousand') from Babylon to the Black Sea in 401-399 BC after their employer was killed
• Wrote 'Anabasis' (The March Up Country), the first great war memoir and a foundational text on military leadership still studied today
• Served under Spartan General Agesilaus II and was eventually exiled from Athens for his Spartan sympathies
• Authored over a dozen works covering history, philosophy, horsemanship, hunting, and household management, demonstrating remarkable intellectual range
• Spent his final years in Corinth, where he continued writing and reflecting on his extraordinary military and literary career