The March of the Ten Thousand

By Xenophon

Stranded deep in enemy territory, the Spartan general Clearchus and the other Greek senior officers were subsequently killed or captured by treachery on the part of the Persian satrap Tissaphernes. Xenophon, one of three remaining leaders elected by the soldiers, played an instrumental role in encouraging the Greek army of 10,000 to march north across foodless deserts and snow-filled mountain passes towards the Black Sea and the comparative security of its Greek shoreline cities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Start Publishing LLC
• Release date: Aug 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781681464145

Xenophon

Xenophon of Athens was an ancient Greek historian, philosopher, and soldier. He became commander of the Ten Thousand at about age thirty. Noted military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge said of him, “The centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior.”  

Reviews for The March of the Ten Thousand

[br77rino · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"The March Up Country," translated by Rouse. A surprisingly short book, of seven chapters ("books") and about 200 pages, and a surprisingly easy read. Xenophon wrote the book in the third person, of his joining a friend to meet Cyrus, the Persian prince, who was in Asia Minor. He is then convinced to join Cyrus and the friend on an expedition to combat an enemy there in Asia Minor, but Cyrus has lied and it is really an expedition to overthrown the Persian king, Cyrus' brother, Artaxerxes. We meet all sorts of peoples along the way. It is very interesting and a bit shocking to hear the Greeks speak of "the natives" of Asia Minor in the same way that the colonial Spaniards spoke of the natives of America, or the Brits of the natives in India and Africa. Xenophon becomes an important commander of the expedition, though he is not a soldier at the beginning of the tale - just a well-off Greek looking for adventure.It is very eye-opening and gives clear view of the culture of that long ago time in the dawn of empires, one that should be required reading in high school given its amazing historical value and easy readability. Why read "secondary" materials when you can read this!

[robertmosher · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not really my favorite rendition of an ancient work, but Mr. Rouse does deliver what he promises - a modern prose retelling of the story of the march of the 10,000 Greek mercenaries out of Persia home to Greece. The result is a workmanlike book of 240 pages with endpaper maps of the route taken by the Greeks. The translation/transliteration of the Greek, Persian, and other ancient names jarred a little since they did not match my expectations based upon previous exposure to other versions of the story. A summary of the story is presented in the preface along with some background on the translation and on surviving ancient manuscript forms of the narrative. I must confess to a preference for the poetic translations, even knowing that such translations cannot in truth convey the full feeling and language of the original text.

[taurus454_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting piece of literature and history. Modern translations using current day grammar lose a certain meanaingful element to the story. Earlier verbatim translations from 1700 period are much better suited to the historian or purist. However, if you are looking to get the gist of what happened then enjoy this book.

[zare_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This one is account of adventures of Greek mercenaries that were hired by Persian prince Cyrus. After Cyrus fails in his attempted coup [against his brother king], Greeks end up deeply behind enemy lines and without guides to get them back to Greece.Soon they will start their march to the Black sea and from there to Greece itself. They will suffer great losses during the march (almost half of the forces will succumb whether to wounds or to the ever present diseases) but will hold their ground against every foe they encounter.Story is full of descriptions of human nature (loss of discipline (and rise of brigandism) after being faced with what seem to be insurmountable odds (and loss of strong leadership), constant squabbling between officers for power, treachery of those seeking to use this mighty army for their own purposes (be it other Greeks or other nations) to name the few).Great story, brilliantly written (short concise sentences – Oxfords’ edition translation is just great) - highly recommended.

[gazzy_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

2000 years ago, 10,000 Greek Soldiers-of Fortune, hired by Persian prince to knock his brother off the throne. The coup fails. Greeks say, 'we'll just be heading home now.' Enemies surround and abound.Great war account, Tremendous Historical document (customs, cultures, biographies), and Insight into the Western character of individual thought. Not a ponderous read, was written as memoir by bon vivant that was living off of money he made kidnapping a persian royal family member (not part of the story, unfortunately).

[stilton_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story of how a Greek army, who had gone to Persia to wage war, struggled to return home after things went a bit wrong. It took me a while to get into it--the earlier parts are not so interesting, I think, perhaps because Xenophon himself did not play such a large role in events, though they do contain his very approving portrait of Cyrus. The end, too, can drag on a bit; in the last book, especially, I get the impression of Xenophon trying to settle old scores; interesting in its way, I suppose, but not totally gripping. These outer sections, too, can suffer from a large number of unfamiliar names (people and places) over which my eyes, at least, slip rather easily. The middle, though, after Xenophon has reached a position of power, but before the army has reached the coast, is more interesting. Here we get an impression of the day to day life of the army, the fighting, yes, but also the dull marches, the search for supplies, the diplomacy and the petty squabbles. And there is, yet again, evidence that classical writers were not allowed to complete a text without at least one piece of absurdity; here there's an incident where some soldiers eat too much honey, become sick, dizzy, suffer from diarrhoea, "some actually died.... However, they were all alive on the next day..." (p 169).Rex Warner's translation seems fine.