Xenophon's Mirror of Princes:Reading the Reflections

Download or read book Xenophon's Mirror of Princes:Reading the Reflections written by Vivienne J. Gray and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2010-12-16 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Xenophon is perhaps best known as the leader of the Ten Thousand on the Anabasis, the famous march of the Greek army through hostile territory to the Black Sea. However, he was also a prolific author, and in this study Vivienne J. Gray focuses upon the ways in which his literary practices shape images of leadership in his narrative works. Gray surveys the views on leadership that Xenophon credits to Socrates, and illustrates in detail his construction of leadership modelsthrough the close examination of selected narratives in works such as Anabasis and Cyropaedia. The techniques include the creation of patterned narratives, as well as allusions to the writings of Homer and Herodotus. Gray takes issue with the school of thought that finds hidden subversion beneath Xenophon'ssurface praise of leaders.