Penguin Classics Persian Exp Edition [Paperback]

This is the account of an army of 10,000 Greek mercenaries who were hired by Cyrus the Persian to help him overthrow his brother, the King. Cyrus, however, was defeated and killed in battle stranding the Greeks in Persia. To make matters worse, the Greek officers were slain by Persians under a false flag of truce, leaving the army leaderless, surrounded by overwhelming hostile forces and without provision 1500 miles from home. Leaderless, broke and despondent, the army, encouraged by Xenophon (354 B.C.) who was a solider on the expedition, elected new offices and began to fight its way home.

This is a story of leadership, faith and courage. What is particularly interesting is the dialogues recorded (or recreated) by Xenophon. Especially telling was the debate among the officers as they were negotiating with the Persians before they were slaughtered. They were caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. Could they trust the Persian truce? Were they capable of defeating such a large army so far from home? If they choose to retreat, just how could they get this army of 10,000 home? They choose to negotiate and were betrayed and killed.

No group of people remains leaderless for long. Leaders will arise, for the good or the worst. Fortunately for the Greeks, good men began to lead, and the long retreat up through Armenia, Kurdistan and to the Black Sea began. Throughout the march they faced one crisis after another- attacked by hostiles, struggling through the snowy mountains, depraved of food, water and provision.

What is particularly sad, was the growing anarchy in the army as it came nearer to Greek civilization. Party factions arose, men began identify with their particular city-state rather than the army, resulting in discouragement and loss of life.

This has to rank with one of the greatest military marches in history, perhaps only matched my Mao's long march during the Communist revolution in China. It is worth the read.

Beginning in Persia c404 BCE & ending in Greece c398 BCE, the story opens w/the Persian king on his deathbed calling for his sons. Once he dies, the eldest son is installed on the throne. Due to a duplicitous action on the part of a so-called friend, the younger brother is jailed on allegations he's planning usurpation & only their mother's intercession frees him. Deciding he'd rather not face the experience again, he plans to make good on the deed of which he was accused. Using the guise of ridding a troublesome tribe from his lands, he begins raising an army consisting of native forces & mercenaries from the Greeks city-states.

Marching to the heart of Persia, battle is joined & the usurper killed. The Greeks, w/o a benefactor, parlay a truce & commence withdrawal. During the retreat, more treachery ensues as the Persians, under the pretext of meeting to discuss allaying the distrust between the Greeks & the Persian escort, murder the five remaining generals in charge of the forces. Apathy quickly sets in & the Greeks sit apathetically waiting for death, slavery, or worse.

Among them, the Athenian Xenophon, disciple of Socrates & knight of a noble house, who oddly has no rank or title in the army. He's simply an observer of sorts, there only b/c a mutual friend offered him a personal introduction to the usurper. Until Xenophon speaks up he scarcely plays a role, however, from that moment forward the story is from his point-of-view. He then narrates how he actively leads the Greeks back to their homeland. Upon returning, Xenophon is embroiled in the political complexities of his homeland & must continue to do his best for the remaining troops. After facing trials on foreign soil where lesser men would have folded, then deal w/adversity on his home turf that would make weaker men crumble, he finally earns a well-deserved respite & settles down as landed aristocracy under the protection of Spartan.

Xenophon's recounting is rich w/the events of the Mediterranean & Asia Minor of the era & paints a vibrant map of the times, peoples, & places. As pointed out in the introduction, "The Greek was pre-eminently a 'political animal,' [...]" (p9). A fact demonstrated by Xenophon's documenting the intrigues created by a satrap in the Persian court @ the beginning of the book, and then recording the political currents in the lands the Ten Thousand travel through, finally concluding w/the start of a feud between Sparta & the same satrap whose scheming set the entire series of events in motion.

As a commentary on Greek society, Xenophon's writing includes colourful descriptions of the "barbarians" the Ten Thousand encounter. For instance, when Xenophon describes a tribe of Mossynoeci they come across on the trek from Cerasus to Cotyora along the Black Sea coast:

[...] These people wanted to have sexual intercourse in public w/the mistresses whom the Greeks brought w/them, this being actually the normal thing in their country. [...] Those who were on the expedition used to say that these people were the most barbarous & the furthest removed from Greek ways of all those w/whom they came in contact. When they were in a crowd, they acted as men would in private, & when they were by themselves, they used to behave as they might do if they were in company; they used to talk to themselves, & laugh to themselves, & stop & dance wherever they happened to be, just as if they were giving a display to others (p237).

The unity of Greek culture can't be defined by what it was, but what it wasn't when compared to other cultures. However, in-fighting among the various factions of the city-states was always a threat, yet, they were bonded by the sea & the principles of Greek democratic honour. A fact demonstrated by their cries of "The sea! The sea!" as the first of the Ten Thousand attained summit of Thekes & unite to build a memorial to the occasion on the spot (p211). Their united brotherhood is verified as Arcadian, Athenian, Spartan, & even Thracian, all work together and set aside their city-state loyalties as they celebrate a common bond-the sea.

The military historian absolutely must have this book in their collection. Xenophon is pure Sun-Tzu in motion, &, a copy of his Art of War should be @ hand while reading the tale. Whereas Sun-Tzu wrote the technical manual, Xenophon is the practical application. There are so many examples in the Persian Expedition to cite only one is an injustice. Suffice it; Xenophon displays a profound understanding of how to apply strategy, tactics, & negotiation, in a practical & honourable fashion to enemy, ally, & neutral native. It's worth noting that Sun-Tzu's work predated Xenophon by roughly 150 years & the sparsely worded treatise wasn't introduced to the West for another 1,700 years. Yet, here's an Athenian performing exactly as the master's work w/o benefit of reading or even knowing of Sun-Tzu! Indeed, the master would consider Xenophon "A heaven born general".

As an aside, readers who enjoy Science & Fantasy fiction will enjoy the account. From persona, experience I wonder if Xenophon inspired many Science & Fantasy fiction writers? Two immediately come to mind: Robert Heinlein & Chris Bunch, the former for Starship Troopers, & the latter for Seer King. The two authors mentioned above have emulated the way Xenophon gives what some might term "A Grunt commander's eye-view".

Simply put, the tale of The Persian Expedition is fantastic.