Xenophon’s Cyropaedia: Style, Genre, and Literary Technique

360 Pages·1993·111.576 MB·English

by  Deborah Levine Gera

OXFORD CLASSICAL MONOGRAPHS
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Faculty ofLiteraeHumanioresintheUniversity ofOxford
OXFORD CLASSICAL MONOGRAPHS
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replaces theOxford Classical and Philosophical
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examinedbythe facultyboardofLiteraeHumaniores.
Xenophon's Cyropaedia
STYLE, GENRE,
AND LITERARY TECHNIQUE
DEBORAH LEVINE CERA
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317259
CLARENDON PRESS . OXFORD
1993
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BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
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ISBN0-19-814477-6
Libraryof CongressCataloginginPublicationData
Cera,DeborahLevine.
Xenophon'sCyropaedia:style,genre,andliterarytechnique/
DeborahLeoineCera.
- (Oxfordclassicalmonographs)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
1.Xenophon. Cyropaedia. 2. Cyrus,KingofPersia,d.529BC,
infiction,drama,poetry,etc. 3.Politicalfiction, Creek
Historyandcriticism. 4.Kingsandrulersinliterature.
5.Rhetoric,Ancient. 6.Literaryform. I. Title. II. Series.
PA4494.C9C4 1993
883'·01- dc2o
ISBN0-19-814477-6
3579108642
SetbyJoshuaAssociatesLimited,Oxford
PrintedinGreatBritain
onacid-freepaperby
Bookcraft (Bath)Ltd.,MidsomerNorton,Avon
DI MEMORY OF MY FATHER
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Preface
CONS1DERED by alltoo manytobe one ofthe mosttediousbooksto
have survived classical antiquity, Xenophon's Cyropaedia is a
complex, varied work. It has generally been approached by scholars
with aspecific interestor anglein mind: be itthe political,biographi
cal, military, novelistic, or Persian features of the work. It seems at
times that too little attention ispaid to the text as aliterarycomposi
tion in its own right. This book is first and foremost a study of the
Cyropaedia: not ofthe long, multifarious composition in its entirety,
but ofthree particularliterary strands which feature prominently in
the work.Chapter 1 isa general introduction, touching upon ques
tions ofgenre, date,and possible Persian sources. Chapters 2, 3,and
4deal respectivelywith three literary influenceswhich have lefttheir
markon the work: Socraticdialogue,literarysymposia,and dramatic
stories or novellas.In these three chapters the characteristic features
ofeach literary genre are first described and discussed in relation to
Xenophon's predecessors and contemporaries. A detailed commen
tary on specific sections of the Cyropaedia, exhibiting this literary
influence, then follows. These commentaries are best read with
Xenophon'stext closeat hand; allquotationsare from the 1910OCT
edition of E. C. Marchant. In the concluding chapter an attempt is
made to examine Xenophon's attitude towards his hero, Cyrus the
Great.
This book is a much-revised version of my Oxford D.Phil. thesis,
'TheDialoguesofthe Cyropaedia': ProfessorD. A. Russell supervised
myresearch,and itisapleasuretothankamanwho isaskindlyashe
is learned for his sage advice and warm encouragement over the
years. My examiners, Dr C. Pelling and Mr S.Usher, had many
perceptivecommentsand criticismsto offer,and Ihavemadefreeuse
of their suggestions here. Professor S.Shaked was kind enough to
look at an earlier draft of the section on Persian sources. Professor
D. M. Lewis was my adviser in the difficult process of turning an
unwieldy dissertation into a more readable book. His enviable
scholarshipand exactingreadingofthemanuscript haveled to many
improvements, large and small.
I owe a great deal to members of the Classics Department of
VIII Preface
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, particularly Joseph Geiger,
Ra'anana Meridor, Lisa UlImann, Abraham Wasserstein, and the
late Alexander Fuks. Teachers, colleagues, and friends, they have
been a sourceofinspiration over manyyears.
Various institutions have afforded me financial support during
stays atOxford.Iam very gratefulto theBritish Council,theRoths
child Foundation (Yad AviHayishuv),the Humanitarian Trust,the
Frederick Rau Memorial Trust, the Overseas Research Students
Awards Scheme, and the British Friends ofthe Hebrew University
for their financial aid. My college in Oxford, Wolfson, was-and
remains-an exceptionallycongenialplaceto pursueresearch.
Finally, I should like to thank my husband, Dov, who claims to
believe,alongwithSamuelJohnson,that 'a man is.. .betterpleased
when he hasa good dinner upon his table than when hiswife talks
Greek', but whose support, encouragement, and genuine partner
ship in raising our children consistently demonstrate just how
dubiousthat claim is.
D.L.G.
Hebrew UniversityofJerusalem
September1991
Contents
Abbreviations Xl
1. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CYROPAEDIA
1. Genre, Purpose,and Predecessors
2. Persian Sources 13
3. The Date ofthe Gyropaedia 23
2. SOCRATES IN PERSIA
1. Introduction 26
2. A Father Guides his Son: Gyr. 1. 6 50
3. AComparison ofConstitutions: Gyr. 1. 3. 15- 18 73
4. The Armenian King'sTrial: Gyr. 3. 1 78
5· Cyaxares the Mede: Gyr. 5·5·5-37 98
6. Exhortations and Silences: Cyr. 3· 3.48-56 109
7. The Death ofa Hero: Gyr. 8.7 115
3. THE SYMPOSIA OF THE CYROPAEDIA
1. Introduction 132
2. Astyages' Feast: Gyr. 1. 3.4- 12 154
3. Cyrus' Officers at Mess: Gyr. 2.2. 1-2.3. 1 160
4. At Gobryas' Estate: Gyr. 5.2.5-22 168
5. Pheraulasand the Sacian: Gyr. 8.3·35-50 173
6. Banquetersin Babylon: Cyr. 8.4. 1-27 183
4. ROMANCE, REVENGE, AND PATHOS:
THE NOVELLAS OF THE CYROPAEDIA
1. Introduction 192
2. Panthea: The Fairest Woman in Asia 221
3. Gobryas and Gadatas:Two Assyrian Defectors 245
4. Croesus: AWise Monarch? 265
5. XENOPHON AND HIS HERO
1. Cyrus as Hero: An Interim Summary 280
2. Cyrus in Babylon 285
3. The Endingofthe Cyropaedia 299
Contents
Bibliography
oruf1l
Index Loc
General Index