Category Archives: xenophon

Briefly Noted: Christopher Nadon, “Leo Strauss’s Restatement on Why Xenophon”

The article discussed below can be found in Perspectives on Political Science, vol. 39 issue 2, Apr-Jun 2010. 77-81 Nadon’s Xenophon’s Prince, a study of The Education of Cyrus, is solid, useful scholarship and highly recommended. The article at hand is rather problematic. Nadon builds a case that Strauss took the time in an article …

January 28, 2011 – 6:38 am | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, politics, xenophon | Comments (0)

Xenophon, “Spartan Constitution”

Or Constitution of the Lacedaemonians. Lacedaemon and Sparta are the same. I’m working on Plato’s Timaeus at the moment, but I revisited this text to keep Xenophon fresh in my mind. This is not an authoritative account, by far. A few basic points: the golden age of Greece is roughly 500-400 B.C. In that time, …

November 28, 2010 – 1:35 pm | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, politics, xenophon | Comments (4)

Briefly Noted: Xenophon, “Agesilaus”

The end of the Peloponnesian War saw Sparta alone as the preeminent power in Greece, but it did not take long for trouble to start again. According to Xenophon, it was said the Persian king was assembling forces for another attack on the Greeks (Agesilaus I: 6-7). The Spartan response was handled by one of …

March 9, 2010 – 3:49 am | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, xenophon | Comments (1)

Briefly Noted: Xenophon, “Art of Horsemanship”

The central chapter of the Memorabilia (III.3) tells of a conversation Socrates had with an unnamed cavalry commander. That commander was quite clueless how to do anything except make better horsemen (he didn’t know how to get them ready for war, whether or not he should check the condition of the horses, how to speak …

February 13, 2010 – 7:02 pm | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, xenophon | Comments (5)

Not a good day, or a brief comment on Memorabilia IV.2.24-29

Ugh. Put a few hours into a video game in a losing cause. I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating that was. I thought my strategy was going well until I revealed the other players on the map and they had double (!) my score. Back to square one, if I can stomach it. …

December 23, 2009 – 12:59 pm | By ashok | Posted in personal, philosophy, politics, xenophon | Comments (1)

On the intersection of poetry, politics and philosophy

I’ve owed all of you an explanation for this blog for some time, but I dread writing posts like these. The best discussion of how poetry, politics and philosophy relate is Book X of Plato’s Republic. What is below is obviously not meant to replace that discussion in any way. All I want to do …

December 3, 2009 – 11:41 am | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, plato, poetry, politics, xenophon | Tagged | Comments (0)

On Socrates, Dancing and Philosophy: Xenophon, Symposium II 15-20

Labour is blossoming or dancing where The body is not bruised to pleasure soul. Nor beauty born out of its own despair, Nor blear-eyed wisdom out of midnight oil. O chestnut-tree, great-rooted blossomer, Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole? O body swayed to music, O brightening glance, How can we know the …

September 15, 2009 – 11:00 am | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, xenophon | Comments (5)

Nature and Law, Woman and Man: On Xenophon’s Oeconomicus, Book VII

Socrates discusses part of an encounter with a perfect [noble and good] gentleman in Oeconomicus VII. The gentleman’s name is Ischomachos; Socrates is relating his discussion with him for the sake of moderating the ambitions of the primary interlocutor of the Oeconomicus, Crito’s son Critoboulus. One of Critoboulos’ problems is moderation (cf. Memorabilia I.3.8-10; Symposium …

June 6, 2009 – 9:47 pm | By ashok | Posted in politics, xenophon | Tagged | Comments (0)

Being, Appearance, Becoming: A Thought on Xenophon, Memorabilia III.10.6-8

What is below is very speculative. Like this blog, it is a work in progress. Xenophon, Memorabilia III.10.6-8, translation Amy Bonnette: When he [Socrates] visited the sculptor Cleiton once and conversed with him, he said, “That the runners, wrestlers, boxers, and pancratists that you make, Cleiton, are beautiful I both see and know. But how …

April 13, 2009 – 11:15 pm | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, xenophon | Comments (1)

A Question of Wealth: On Xenophon, Memorabilia I 2.62

Xenophon, Memorabilia I 2.62, tr. Amy Bonnette: In my [Xenophon's] opinion, Socrates – since this was the sort he was – deserved honor from the city rather than death. One would find this out by examining the matter also according to the laws. For, according to the laws, the penalty is death if someone is …

March 11, 2009 – 6:14 pm | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, xenophon | Comments (5)