Xenophon the Athenian

This chapter provides a brief biography of Xenophon of Athens. Focussing on his early years, three factors are identified as major influences on his life and traced to the strong apologetic Tendenz in his writings. Firstly is the figure of Socrates, whom Xenophon became a follower of as a young man and in later life defended in his Socratic writings. Secondly, violent conflict in the form of the Peloponnesian War and the Civil War at Athens which followed it. In the case of the latter, Xenophon may have sought to distance himself from the Thirty Tyrants, who ruled until the restoration of the democracy. Thirdly, his exile from Athens, the date and cause of which are now matters of dispute. He refers to this event only in Anabasis and only in passing, but it is argued in a later chapter that the text on some level answers the charge(s) made against him.