Xenophon and the Ten Thousand had done something unthinkable. They had marched into the heart of the great eastern empire of Persia, had met the Great King and an innumerable host in combat, had defeated them three times, had refused to capitulate when their allies had all surrendered and half their generals had been assassinated, had defied the Great King himself, and had retreated through hostile territory harassed all the way but never defeated, and finally had returned to tell their tale. They had been on the march for two hundred and fifteen days, covered one thousand, one hundred and fifty leagues (3,800 miles) over a period of fifteen months, according to one ancient scholar.[61] Throughout the trials of the army, Xenophon led with wisdom, courage, honor, and compassion. He held the army together both in hostile and in nominally friendly territory. Unlike many other officers, he showed a genuine concern for his men and sacrificed to bring them through. In his exercise of virtue he acknowledged a debt to the champion of virtuous living, Socrates.[62]
The news of the Ten Thousand’s odyssey electrified Greece from the outset. An army of Greek mercenaries cut off from all support had rampaged through the Persian Empire undefeated and unbroken. It was immediately evident that the vast and wealthy Persian Empire was a ripe fruit waiting to be plucked. The Spartans themselves, having shamelessly surrendered the Ionian coast with its Greek colonies to Persians in return for the resources to defeat the Athenians, began to cast greedy eyes on the rich lands of Asia Minor. Now that they had subdued their domestic enemies, what was to stop them from hitherto unimagined conquests?
In reality, the Spartan state was too conservative and parochial to pursue an overseas foreign empire. But the march of Xenophon and the Ten Thousand paved the way for a ruler with determination and the right army. Seventy years later, a bold young leader with the right resources, Alexander III “the Great” of Macedonia, with a relatively small but highly trained army, would finally carry out the dream of conquering the rich lands of the Middle East. In this way a follower of Socrates the philosopher blazed new paths and a student of Aristotle the philosopher (as Alexander was to be) would redraw the map of the world. Ultimately, the explosion of Greek culture in the Hellenistic age was the indirect legacy of Socrates of Athens.
As for Xenophon, his memoir Anabasis or The Expedition would become a classic of military history and personal adventure.[63] He would be honored by the Spartans with a plantation near Olympia and exiled by the Athenians for his service to the Spartan King Agesilaus, an extension of his leadership of the Ten Thousand.[64]
And in his retirement he would also write a memoir of his moral and intellectual mentor, Socrates of Athens.
[61].Xenophon Anabasis 7.8.26.
[62]. See Marincola 2017:108-15 on Xenophon’s ideals and values.
[63]. For a recent assessment of the Anabasis see Marincola 2017. On the writing of the work, see Cawkwell 2004.
[64].Xenophon Anabasis 5.3.7-13.