Hellenica
Hellenica simply means writings on Greek subjects. Several histories of the 4th-century BC Greece have borne the conventional Latin title Hellenica, of which very few survive. The most notable of the surviving histories is the Hellenica of the Ancient Greek writer Xenophon.
The work was intended as a continuation of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, which was left unfinished and ends abruptly in the year 411 BC. Xenophon's Hellenica covers the years 411-362 BC, through the end of the Peloponnesian War and its aftermath.
Hellenica is usually considered to be a difficult work for modern audiences to understand, as Xenophon often assumed his reader's knowledge of events.
Composition
There are many theories on how and when Hellenica was written, but most scholars believe that Xenophon wrote the majority of it in the later years of his life, from around 362-356 BC. The first section, which covers the end of the Peloponnesian War, was probably written much earlier, in the mid-380s BC. Some have suggested that this early section was an attempt to mimic Thucydides, as it follows a strict chronological structure and minimizes religious significance, however, the respective writing styles are still distinctly different. The later sections through to the end of the work are less strict in their chronological order, often following singular stories to their completion before going back and filling in events that had happened elsewhere.Reliability
While Hellenica contains inaccuracies, it is generally considered that Xenophon didn't include anything he knew to be untrue. He shows a bias towards Sparta, most clearly through his dislike of Sparta's rival Thebes, describing them as foolish and cowardly in battle. The exclusion of certain significant events, such as the establishment of the Arcadian League and the Second Athenian League, the construction of Megalopolis, and the refoundation of Messene, all favor Sparta. However, it is possible that these events were left out because they were common knowledge to his readers. Also, despite this reputation for bias, Hellenica includes few evaluative phrases that directly praise or criticize its subjects.Xenophon wrote his history soon after the events had occurred. As he was himself a cavalryman, the importance of cavalry in battles is emphasized, particularly in reference to Persia. He relied primary on his own memory, as well as testimony of others, mostly friends who visited him. As he trusted these eyewitnesses, rarely did he find multiple sources for an event, resulting in occasionally limited perspectives and unbalanced coverage.
Content
Hellenica is divided into seven books that cover the era between the golden age of Athens and the rise of Macedon.The first two narrate the final years of the Peloponnesian War, while the remaining books focus primarily on Sparta as the dominant city-state in Greece after the Peloponnesian War, continuing into the period known as the Theban hegemony following Sparta's defeat at the battle of Leuctra. The main concerns are the power struggle between Athens and Sparta, as well as the ideological struggle between democracy and oligarchy.
Book 3 includes a brief description of the expedition of Cyrus the Younger and the Ten thousand, in which Xenophon took part and later wrote a history of, the Anabasis.
Unlike the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, Xenophon's Hellenica has no preface or introduction. This has made it comparatively difficult to judge Xenophon's intentions and methods for writing his history. The narrative begins as a continuation of Thucydides' unfinished History of the Peloponnesian War, clearly designated by the opening words of Hellenica, "μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα," which are translated varyingly as "Then," "After this," "Some days later," or "Following these events."
Xenophon ends his history with the Battle of Mantineia in 362 BC. This is viewed as a rather arbitrary choice, as the battle was neither decisive nor conclusive. Despite the Thebans winning the battle, they lost their commander Epaminondas, which led to their inability to capitalize on Sparta's defeat. As a thematic ending, Mantineia represents the fulfillment of hubristic revenge by the Thebans on the Spartans for their oath-breaking seizure of the acropolis at Thebes. Also, Xenophon's son Gryllus, a famous Athenian cavalryman, died in the battle. In general, the mood at the end of the piece is pessimistic, as Xenophon describes the chaos and uncertainty that these conflicts have reached.
The work concludes with an open-ended statement by Xenophon that his history has ended but another historian may continue it. This, along with the opening, has been interpreted by scholar Lisa Irene Hau to symbolize that Xenophon viewed history as a continuous work, in which the Hellenica was simply a small piece.
Summary
Book 1 (411-406 BC)
The history begins with the "Decelian War" period of the Peloponnesian War. The rival navies of Sparta and Athens fight campaigns in the Hellespont region. Initially, the Athenian navy saw several major sea victories, at Byzantium and the Arginusae Islands. Book 1 also narrates restoration of Alcibiades to the Athenian military and his return to Athens in 407 BC.Book 2 (406-403 BC)
This book narrates the end of the Peloponnesian War with the surrender of Athens in 404 BC. The Spartan commander Lysander ordered the long walls of Athens torn down, and Athens became formally allied with the Spartan hegemony. The Spartans also installed a new government. Book 2 focuses primarily on the internal politics of Athens following the war. The Spartan-instituted oligarch regime, known as the Thirty Tyrants, was overthrown and there was a resumption of democracy in Athens.Book 3 (401–395 BC)
Here Xenophon shifts viewpoint from Athenian to Spartan politics, beginning with a brief account of the expedition of the Ten-thousand against the Persian king Artaxerxes II. Book 3 narrates the Spartan expedition led by King Agesilaus in Asia Minor against the Persians. The satraps of Ionia, Pharnabazus and Tissaphernes, are prominent characters with shifting allegiances throughout the Hellenica.Book 4 (395–388 BC)
Primarily concerned with the Corinthian War, Book 4 recalls King Agesilaus' Ionian campaign against Persia of 396–395 BC. During this time, the satrap Pharnabazus bribed Greek states into revolting against Sparta. This eventually led to the Corinthian War, with the states of Athens, Corinth, Argos and Thebes united against Sparta. Agesilaus and his army were recalled in 394 BC from his campaign against Persia. This period saw the beginning of the Corinthian War, with the Persian Empire siding with Athens against Sparta. The Persian satrap Pharnabazus let the exiled Athenian general Conon lead the Persian navy in a number of battles, including the Battle of Cnidus in 394 BC. Conon then convinced Pharnabazus to allow Athens to keep the Persian fleet and to fund the rebuilding of the long walls at Athens.Book 5 (388–375 BC)
There was a peace conference at the end of the Corinthian War in 387 BC that resulted the "King's Peace" treaty. The acropolis in Thebes was seized by the supposed renegade Spartan Phoebidas, enabling Sparta to control the city until 378 BC, when a group of Thebans expelled the Spartans and reclaimed the city. This later led to the Boeotian War from 378–371 BC.Book 6 (375–369 BC)
The Athenian general Iphicrates stealthily travels around the Peloponnesus. The Battle of Leuctra results in a major loss for Sparta against Thebes, ending the Boeotian War and Spartan hegemony in Greece, although Sparta would remain influential over the next decade. Theban hegemony begins under the leadership of Theban general Epaminondas.Book 7 (369–362 BC)
During this period Thebes was the ascendant power in Greece. The old power structures fluctuated as new ones came into being. There was briefly an alliance between Athens and Sparta against Thebes. Sparta faced increasing harassment from internal rebellions and outside resistance. The Spartan homeland saw the first invasion in centuries. The Theban hegemony ended in 362 BC with the second battle of Mantinea.Style
Xenophon has traditionally been viewed as a lesser historian and biased moralist, especially when compared to Thucydides and Herodotus. Modern scholarship has generally reevaluated these faults, emphasizing his focus on making history come alive for the reader.Xenophon's history focuses on human perspectives. It is not a top-down history like Thucydides, instead it describes specific actions or battles from an individual person or community perspective, often with singular details and imagery. Their interactions most often take the form of war and conflict, depicted through the eyes of individuals to show the impacts of the battles on the people themselves. An admirer of Socrates, Xenophon wrote Hellenica as an "ethical history," intended to be educational. It both criticizes and elevates human virtues, filtered through Xenophon's strong moral sense of justice and reciprocity.
This individualistic focus can make the work appear episodic and mostly anecdotal. Historian Lisa Hau describes some of these episodes as "moral vignettes," which depict fictional, short conversations between characters in order to deliver a moral lesson, while still being interesting and enjoyable to read. This anecdotal style has led to Xenophon's reputation as a writer of memoirs rather than history, as some events are filled with detail and others are not, regardless of their conventionally ascribed historical significance.