Professionalisierung und Ethnographie – Xenophon Über die Thraker

Ethnography from the 4th century BCE after the Peloponnesian War and up to Alexander’s campaign has so far been underrepresented in ancient historical research. This article attempts to fill in the gap by examining the multi-layered functions of ethnographic writing, using the Thracians in the Xenophontic Anabasis as an example. Thereby, it will be shown that expert knowledge of the 4th century in particular played a formative role in describing foreign ethnic groups. Finally, ethnographic information about the Thracians significantly supports Xenophon’s self-representation as ideal military leader and philosopher.