The Long March

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Xenophon and the Ten Thousand

Edited by Robin Lane Fox

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The March of the Ten Thousand is one of the most famous military adventures in the ancient world. Its fearless army of Greek mercenaries marched through western Asia (modern Turkey and Iraq) in 401–399 B.C., their hopes and hardships recounted by Xenophon, the Athenian, an admiring pupil of Socrates. Xenophon’s history of the Long March, or Anabasis, is a classic of Greek literature.
In this book, twelve leading scholars explore the Anabasis, a deceptively simple and profoundly rich source of social and cultural history and the mentality of the ancient Greek participants. The contributors explore a wide range of topics, from Xenophon’s values, motives, and manner as a writer to the outlook of his companions as mercenary soldiers, from his descriptions of religion in soldiers’ lives to their relations with women, boys, and the many foreign peoples encountered during the march.


Robin Lane Fox is reader in ancient history at Oxford University and a fellow of New College. Among his books is Alexander the Great (1973).

"The Long March is a useful collection of essays that will be of interest to professional historians of ancient Greece.  They will come away with a much keener appreciation of Xenophon and the Anabasis, especially the wealth of information contained in that work."—Thomas Kelly, History: Reviews of New Books

“[This book] brilliantly demonstrates how Xenophon’s distorted and fragmentary comments on the Persian Empire can be pieced together. . . . It is a case which [Lane Fox] makes with great conviction; and all the more so for the heavyweight back-up that he receives from his phalanx of contributors.”—Tom Holland, Times Literary Supplement

"Robin Fox has performed an important service in focusing the considerations of a dozen leading scholars (including himself) on a wide range of interesting aspects of Xenophon's famous work. . . . In addition to what may be learned about the history and the sometimes deceptive art of the historian, there are timeless lessons here concerning the individuals and their societies."—Robert S. Rust, Virginia Quarterly Review

"Lane Fox, better known now perhaps as the advisor to Oliver Stone's movie Alexander the Great, himself sets the tone for the volume as a whole, with a wide-ranging and brilliant introduction."—Paul Cartledge, The Historian

"The fruit of a lecture series, this volume contains an introduction and a dozen essay on Xenophon's Anabasis. . . . These essays avoid jargon, but would be particularly interesting to teachers seeking ideas for using the Anabasis in a course."—Peter Krentz, Religious Studies Review

‘The varied and rich contents of this book, including relevant historical documents, as well as the high-quality reproductions of the art works, make this publication one that will remain essential for a long time to come.’ — Stefan R. Landsberger, The China Quarterly 200, December 2009

ISBN: 9780300104035
Publication Date: November 10, 2004
376 pages, 6.125 x 9.25
16 b/w illus.