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

360 Pages·1993·111.576 MB·English
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OXFORD CLASSICAL MONOGRAPHS PublishedunderthesupervisionofaCommitteeofthe Faculty ofLiteraeHumanioresintheUniversity ofOxford OXFORD CLASSICAL MONOGRAPHS Theaim oftheOxford Classical Monographsseries(which replaces theOxford Classical and Philosophical Monographs)istopublishoutstandingrevisedtheses on Greek and Latin literature,ancienthistory,and ancient philosophy examinedbythe facultyboardofLiteraeHumaniores. Xenophon's Cyropaedia STYLE, GENRE, AND LITERARY TECHNIQUE DEBORAH LEVINE CERA SBD-FFLCH-W 11111111111111111111111111111111111 317259 CLARENDON PRESS . OXFORD 1993 OxfordUniversityPress, WaltonStreet, OxfordOX25DP OxfordNewTork Toronto Delhi Bombay Calcutta Madras Karachi KualaLumpur Singapore HongKong Tokyo NairobiDaresSalaam CapeTown Melbourne Auckland Madrid andassociatedcompaniesin Berlin Ibadan OxfordisatrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress PublishedintheUnitedStates byOxfordUniversityPressInc.New Tork ©DeborahLeuineCera1993 Allrightsreserved.Nopartof thispublicationmaybereproduced, storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans, withoutthepriorpermissionof OxfordUniversityPress. WithintheUI( exceptionsareallowedinrespectofanyfairdealingforthe purposeof researchorprivatestudy,orcriticismorreview,aspermitted undertheCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct,1988, orinthecaseof reprographi<reproductioninaccordancewiththetermsofthelicences issuedbytheCopyrightLicensingAgency.Enquiriesconcerning reproductionoutsidethesetermsandinothercountriesshouldbe senttotheRightsDepartment, OxfordUniversityPress, attheaddressabove BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable 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 ~"~'i.l ~:::J.N "~'r~ 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

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