'''Cyropaedia''' (from Greek ''Kúrou paideía'' "The education of Cyrus") is a "partly fictional biography"
[1] of
Cyrus the Great, written by the
Athenian gentleman-soldier
Xenophon.
Content
In substance, the ''Cyropaedia'' is "a political romance, describing the education of the ideal ruler, trained to rule as a benevolent despot over his admiring and willing subjects."
[2]
Although it is "generally agreed" that Xenophon "did not intend ''Cyropaedia'' as history,"
1 what other literary genre the work may belong to remains unclear. The validity as a source of
Achaemenid history has been repeatedly questioned, and numerous descriptions of events or personae have been determined to be in error.
1 Other issues have been noted to be anachronistic and/or have a historic bias.
Xenophon (ca. 431 – 355 BCE) was not a contemporary of Cyrus (ca. 580 – 530 BCE) and it is likely that at least some of the historiographer's observations were based on events that occurred at the later Achaemenid court. It is also probable that stories of the great King were recounted (and embellished) by court society and that these are the basis of Xenophon's text.
Although the work narrates, in its entirety, the life of Cyrus, only the first of the 8 books is — technically speaking — the ''Cyropaedia''. This first book is devoted to Cyrus' descent, education and his stay at the court of his maternal grandfather, the
Median dynast
Astyages. Books 2 through 7 cover Cyrus' life while still a vassal of the Medians. Book 8 is a sketch of Cyrus' kingship and his views of monarchy.
Other related characters, of questionable historical truth, appear in the narrative as well. For example, the romance of
Abradatas and Pantheia forms a part of the latter half of the narrative.
[3][4]
Legacy
The book was considered a classic in antiquity: the ancients believed that Xenophon composed it in response to the ''
Republic'' of
Plato, or vice versa, and Plato's ''Laws'' seems to allude to the ''Cyropaedia.''
Scipio Africanus is said to have carried a copy with him at all times.
[5]
The ''Cyropaedia'' was "re-discovered" in the
Renaissance as a practical treatise on political virtue and social organization.
[6] In his preface to ''
The Faerie Queene'',
Edmund Spenser remarked: "Xenophon's ''Cyropaedia'' is to be preferred to Plato, for it demonstrates exquisite depth of monarchial judgement. Cyrus' formation of commonwealth is such as it should be, and government by example is much more profitable and gracious than government by rule."
Similar sentiments have been been expressed in the modern-age. Many of the
Founding Fathers of the United States of America sought inspiration from the
Cyropaedia, and
Thomas Jefferson had two personal copies of the book, "which was a mandatory read for statesmen alongside
Machiavelli's ''
The Prince''."
[7] In modern times, its reputation has declined; it has been described as "surely one of the most tedious books to have survived from the ancient world."
5
Postmodern critics may see a dual sense in the phrase "education of Cyrus", which could either mean the education he received or the one he gave, especially since Cyrus' preferred verb seems to be ''didaskein'' (to teach) and Xenophon seems concerned primarily with the alterations Cyrus made to
Achaemenid Persian society in order to make it fit for empire, which could be described as an education.
Notes
| a. | The original reads: "For this cause is Xenophon preferred before Plato, for that the one, in the exquisite depth of his judgement, formed a Commune welth, such as it should be; but the other in the person of Cyrus, and the Persians, fashioned a government, such as might best be: So much more profitable and gratious is doctrine by ensample, then by rule." |
Bibliography
1.
2.
3. v. 1. § 3, vi. 1. § 31, &c. 4. § 2, &c. vii. 3. § 2, &c.
4.
5.
6.
7. Cliff Rogers (USMA) as quoted in
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