politburo diktat 2.0

Each book of the Anabasis includes a short summary of what preceded it. The division into books came long after Xenophon wrote the Anabasis, and these summaries are certainly not Xenophon’s words.

How the Greeks were recruited by Cyrus to march against his brother Artaxerxes, what happened on the way up, how the battle occurred, how Cyrus died, and how the Greeks came into their camp thinking that they had defeated all (the Persians) and that Cyrus was alive, … (all this) was made clear in the previous narrative.

Then, Xenophon’s own work continues:

The next morning, the (Greek) generals conferred, and were puzzled that Cyrus had neither sent someone telling them what they should do, nor had he come himself. So it seemed best to them, packing up whatever they had and arming themselves, to advance forward until they should meet up with Cyrus. As they were starting on their way at sunrise, Procles (the governor of Teuthrania and a descendant of Damaratus the Spartan) and Glous of Tamos arrrived.

These related that Cyrus had died and that Ariaeus, with the other barbarians, had fled to the staging area from where they had set out the previous day, and said that this day he would wait for them, if they wanted to join him, but Ariaeus said that on the next day, he would set out for Ionia, whence he had come. Hearing this, the generals, and the other Greeks learning of it, were dismayed. Clearchus said the following:

“If only Cyrus were alive! But since he had died, you tell Ariaeus that we have defeated the Great King and, as you can see, no one at all (dares) to fight us, and if you had not come, we would be marching now against the King. We answer Ariaeus that if he would come here, we will set him on the King’s throne, for the right to rule belong to those who are victorious in battle.”

Saying this, he sent back the messengers and with them Cheirisophos the Spartan and Menon the Thessalian, because Menon wanted to go himself, being a friend and xenos of Ariaeus.

A rather audacious, and characteristically confident, proposal by Clearchus. There are the Greeks, a small force of 10,000, stranded leaderless in the middle of an alien empire, and Clearchus promises that he can deliver the throne to Cyrus’ second-in-command.