Anabǎsis

Anabǎsis (Kyrou anabasis, ‘Cyrus' expedition inland’), prose narrative in seven books by Xenophon, describing the expedition of the younger Cyrus, son of king Darius II of Persia, against his elder brother Artaxerxes II, the then king. Xenophon published the first part under the pseudonym of Themistogenes of Syracuse, but in the second part he abandoned the pretence and magnified his own role in the expedition.

Cyrus, who was satrap of Lydia, was disappointed that he had not been chosen to succeed his father, as the favourite son. His resentment against his brother was increased, according to Xenophon, when he was arrested by Artaxerxes, soon after his accession, on a false charge of conspiracy. Cyrus prepared to attack Artaxerxes, and recruited an auxiliary force of 10, 000 Greeks. Xenophon describes the long march of Cyrus' expedition, the ‘Ten Thousand’, which he accompanied at the invitation of his friend Proxenus, one of the Greek generals, from Sardis to the neighbourhood of Babylon in 401 BC. It was interrupted by the reluctance of some of the troops to proceed when they discovered the true object of the expedition, which had been concealed from them. The majority were persuaded to go on, and fought in the battle of Cunaxa, near Babylon; Cyrus himself was killed, and his Asiatic troops took flight.

This disaster dismayed the Greeks, but they resisted the attempts of Artaxerxes to induce them to surrender. Their dismay increased when the satrap Tissaphernes, who had been conducting the negotiations on the Persian side, lured the Greek generals into his quarters to have them seized and beheaded. At this point Xenophon induced the remaining officers to reorganize the force and arrange a safe retreat. Cheirisophus commanded the van while Xenophon took the more dangerous command at the rear. His advice on the route and his courage and resourcefulness enabled the Greek army, after great hardships and severe fighting in the mountains of Armenia, to reach the Black Sea. Xenophon's account includes a famous description (IV. 7. 20–6) of the scene when the Greeks, climbing Mount Theches, at last saw the sea and cried ‘thalassa, thalassa!’ (the sea, the sea!). They now reached comparative safety at Trapezus, a Greek colony on the Black Sea coast; but difficulties had still to be overcome, and there was dissension among the troops before they reached Byzantium. After spending a winter in the service of the treacherous Seuthes, a Thracian, Xenophon handed over the remnant of the Ten Thousand to the Spartan Thimbron, for the war against Persia. In his narrative Xenophon's piety is noticeable: he takes no important decision without sacrificing to the gods and being guided by the omens.