A. Tassos

The Ancient Greek term anabasis is ambiguous enough that translators often let it stand. Here are some possibilities: march up country, ascent, and literally, expedition up from. In translating Xenophon’s title, Wayne Ambler opts for The Anabasis of Cyrus, which does not clear up the issue.
Xenophon, a military leader, historian, and friend of Socrates, left Athens to join a Spartan mercenary expedition to aid Cyrus the Younger in his effort to overthrow his brother Artaxerxes. Xenophon took command after Cyrus was killed and the Greek leaders were assassinated. With his force of 10,000 hoplites, he fought his way from Babylon to the Black Sea and through Turkey,
Xenophon appears as a character in the narrative. In chronicling his journey, he describes the leadership styles of his enemies and allies. He led from the front and used argument and consensus more often than threats of force to keep his troops in line.
After the death of Cyrus, the Greek army often lived off the land; you would not have wanted to be a villager in their path. In the mountains, villagers jumped from cliffs to avoid them. Xenophon reports with equal coolness, acts of courage, nobility, and brutality.
The Anabasis is a landmark work of military history that deserves to be read alongside those of Thucydides, Caesar, and Herodotus.… (mehr)

Not a page-turner, but a real document. Maybe a 2 for readability, but a 5 for the real experience of a Greek army in desperate circumstances.

The final sentence of the book is, "The distance of the entire journey, ascent and descent, was two hundred fifteen stages, one thousand one hundred fifty parasangs, or thirty-four thousand two hundred fifty-five stadia; and the the amount of the time of the ascent and descent, a year and three months." That captures the detail and the difficulty of the narrative. The distance is roughly 4500 miles, almost all on foot.

But the meat is in the speeches. Almost at the end, Xenophon says, "But I, Seuthes, do not believe that any possession is more noble or more brilliant for a man, and especially, a ruler, than virtue, justice, and generosity." That is why you read this.… (mehr)