politburo diktat 2.0

To recap: Cyrus, who hired the 10,000 Greek mercenaries, to help him overthrow his brother, the King of Persia, was killed at the Battle of Cunaxa, not far from Babylon. Quite stranded, the Greeks want to get home, and worked out a shaky truce with the Persians. They trekked alongside the Tigris River, as far as the Zapatas, where Clearchus, the leading Greek general called a conference with Tissaphernes, one of the leading Persians, to resolve the mutual suspicions infecting both sides. They both agreed to identify publicly the rumor-mongerers and slanderers in a subsequent meeting (recounted here). The narrative picks up with Clearchus’ own suspicions and intentions.

[29] ἐβούλετο δὲ καὶ Κλέαρχος ἅπαν τὸ στράτευμα πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἔχειν τὴν γνώμην καὶ τοὺς παραλυποῦντας ἐκποδὼν εἶναι. τῶν δὲ στρατιωτῶν ἀντέλεγόν τινες αὐτῷ μὴ ἰέναι πάντας τοὺς λοχαγοὺς καὶ στρατηγοὺς μηδὲ πιστεύειν Τισσαφέρνει. [30] ὁ δὲ Κλέαρχος ἰσχυρῶς κατέτεινεν, ἔστε διεπράξατο πέντε μὲν στρατηγοὺς ἰέναι, εἴκοσι δὲ λοχαγούς: συνηκολούθησαν δὲ ὡς εἰς ἀγορὰν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων στρατιωτῶν ὡς διακόσιοι.

But Clearchus also wanted the leadership of entire army for himself and to do away with his adversaries. Many of the soldiers argued with him, that not all of the generals and captains should go, as they did not trust Tissaphernes. Clearchus kept strongly insisting, until he got five of the generals and twenty of the captains to go. They were followed by about two hundred of the other soldiers, as if going to the market.¹

[31] ἐπεὶ δὲ ἦσαν ἐπὶ θύραις ταῖς Τισσαφέρνους, οἱ μὲν στρατηγοὶ παρεκλήθησαν εἴσω, Πρόξενος Βοιώτιος, Μένων Θετταλός, Ἀγίας Ἀρκάς, Κλέαρχος Λάκων, Σωκράτης Ἀχαιός: οἱ δὲ λοχαγοὶ ἐπὶ ταῖς θύραις ἔμενον. [32] οὐ πολλῷ δὲ ὕστερον ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ σημείου οἵ τ’ ἔνδον ξυνελαμβάνοντο καὶ οἱ ἔξω κατεκόπησαν. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τῶν βαρβάρων τινὲς ἱππέων διὰ τοῦ πεδίου ἐλαύνοντες ᾧτινι ἐντυγχάνοιεν Ἕλληνι ἢ δούλῳ ἢ ἐλευθέρῳ πάντας ἔκτεινον. [33] οἱ δὲ Ἕλληνες τήν τε ἱππασίαν ἐθαύμαζον ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου ὁρῶντες καὶ ὅ τι ἐποίουν ἠμφεγνόουν, πρὶν Νίκαρχος Ἀρκὰς ἧκε φεύγων τετρωμένος εἰς τὴν γαστέρα καὶ τὰ ἔντερα ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ἔχων, καὶ εἶπε πάντα τὰ γεγενημένα.

When they came to Tissaphernes’ headquarters, the generals were summoned inside: Proxenus the Boeotian, Menon of Thessaly, Ageas the Arcadian, Clearchus the Spartan, and Socrates the Achaean. The captains waited outside. Not long afterwards, at the same signal, those inside were seized and those outside were cut down. After this, some of the barbarian horsemen rode out across the plain, and any Greeks they came across, whether slaves or free men, they killed. The Greeks, seeing this cavalry attack from their camp, were shocked and were uncertain what to make of it, until Nikarchos the Arcadian came in fleeing, having been wounded in the belly, and holding his entrails in his hands. And he told them all that had happened.

[34] ἐκ τούτου δὴ οἱ Ἕλληνες ἔθεον ἐπὶ τὰ ὅπλα πάντες ἐκπεπληγμένοι καὶ νομίζοντες αὐτίκα ἥξειν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον. [35] οἱ δὲ πάντες μὲν οὐκ ἦλθον, Ἀριαῖος δὲ καὶ Ἀρτάοζος καὶ Μιθραδάτης, οἳ ἦσαν Κύρῳ πιστότατοι: ὁ δὲ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἑρμηνεὺς ἔφη καὶ τὸν Τισσαφέρνους ἀδελφὸν σὺν αὐτοῖς ὁρᾶν καὶ γιγνώσκειν: συνηκολούθουν δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι Περσῶν τεθωρακισμένοι εἰς τριακοσίους. [36] οὗτοι ἐπεὶ ἐγγὺς ἦσαν, προσελθεῖν ἐκέλευον εἴ τις εἴη τῶν Ἑλλήνων στρατηγὸς ἢ λοχαγός, ἵνα ἀπαγγείλωσι τὰ παρὰ βασιλέως.

Well, at that point, the Greeks were running for their weapons, all of them panic-stricken, and thinking that at any moment the horsemen would come into the camp. But all of them did not come, only Ariaeus and Artaozos and Mithradates, who were Cyrus’ trusted men. The interpreter of the Greeks said that he also saw Tissaphernes’ brother with them, and to be aware that about three hundred other well-armed Persians were following. When they were near, they directed whatever Greek general or captain there might be to come forward, so they could deliver a message from the King.

[37] μετὰ ταῦτα ἐξῆλθον φυλαττόμενοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων στρατηγοὶ μὲν Κλεάνωρ Ὀρχομένιος καὶ Σοφαίνετος Στυμφάλιος, ξὺν αὐτοῖς δὲ Ξενοφῶν Ἀθηναῖος, ὅπως μάθοι τὰ περὶ Προξένου: Χειρίσοφος δὲ ἐτύγχανεν ἀπὼν ἐν κώμῃ τινὶ ξὺν ἄλλοις ἐπισιτιζομένοις. [38] ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἔστησαν εἰς ἐπήκοον, εἶπεν Ἀριαῖος τάδε. Κλέαρχος μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἕλληνες, ἐπεὶ ἐπιορκῶν τε ἐφάνη καὶ τὰς σπονδὰς λύων, ἔχει τὴν δίκην καὶ τέθνηκε, Πρόξενος δὲ καὶ Μένων, ὅτι κατήγγειλαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπιβουλήν, ἐν μεγάλῃ τιμῇ εἰσιν. ὑμᾶς δὲ βασιλεὺς τὰ ὅπλα ἀπαιτεῖ: αὑτοῦ γὰρ εἶναί φησιν, ἐπείπερ Κύρου ἦσαν τοῦ ἐκείνου δούλου. [39] πρὸς ταῦτα ἀπεκρίναντο οἱ Ἕλληνες, ἔλεγε δὲ Κλεάνωρ ὁ Ὀρχομένιος: ὦ κάκιστε ἀνθρώπων Ἀριαῖε καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι ὅσοι ἦτε Κύρου φίλοι, οὐκ αἰσχύνεσθε οὔτε θεοὺς οὔτ’ ἀνθρώπους, οἵτινες ὀμόσαντες ἡμῖν τοὺς αὐτοὺς φίλους καὶ ἐχθροὺς νομιεῖν, προδόντες ἡμᾶς σὺν Τισσαφέρνει τῷ ἀθεωτάτῳ τε καὶ πανουργοτάτῳ τούς τε ἄνδρας αὐτοὺς οἷς ὤμνυτε ἀπολωλέκατε καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἡμᾶς προδεδωκότες ξὺν τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς ἔρχεσθε;

In response, out came some heavily-guarded Greek generals: Cleanor the Orchomenian and Sophainetos the Stymphalian, and with them Xenophon, the Athenian, who wanted to find out what happened to Proxenus.² Cheirisophos had gone away to a village with some others to gather provisions. When they stopped within earshot, Ariaeus said: “Clearchus, my Greek gentlemen, who manifestly was a perjurer and who broke the truce, has been executed. Proxenus and Menon, who denounced him as a conspirator are in great honor. The King demands your weapons; he says they are his property, just as Cyrus was his slave.

To this, responding for the Greeks, Cleanor the Orchomenian said, “O, you most despicable of men³ , Ariaeus and the others who were Cyrus’ friends, are you not ashamed before gods and men? You pledged with us to consider the same ones as friends or foes, and now betray us to that most untrustworthy⁴ and unscrupulous Tissaphernes. You have killed the very same men that you swore an oath with, and the rest of us you betray to the enemy … and now you have the nerve to come here?”

[40] ὁ δὲ Ἀριαῖος εἶπε: Κλέαρχος γὰρ πρόσθεν ἐπιβουλεύων φανερὸς ἐγένετο Τισσαφέρνει τε καὶ Ὀρόντᾳ, καὶ πᾶσιν ἡμῖν τοῖς σὺν τούτοις. ἐπὶ τούτοις Ξενοφῶν τάδε εἶπε. [41] Κλέαρχος μὲν τοίνυν εἰ παρὰ τοὺς ὅρκους ἔλυε τὰς σπονδάς, τὴν δίκην ἔχει: δίκαιον γὰρ ἀπόλλυσθαι τοὺς ἐπιορκοῦντας: Πρόξενος δὲ καὶ Μένων ἐπείπερ εἰσὶν ὑμέτεροι μὲν εὐεργέται, ἡμέτεροι δὲ στρατηγοί, πέμψατε αὐτοὺς δεῦρο: δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι φίλοι γε ὄντες ἀμφοτέροις πειράσονται καὶ ὑμῖν καὶ ἡμῖν τὰ βέλτιστα ξυμβουλεῦσαι. [42] πρὸς ταῦτα οἱ βάρβαροι πολὺν χρόνον διαλεχθέντες ἀλλήλοις ἀπῆλθον οὐδὲν ἀποκρινάμενοι.

So Ariaeus said, “But it was shown long ago that Clearchus was conspiring against Tissaphernes, Orontas, and all of us with them.” At this, Xenophon spoke up, “Well then, if Clearchus violated his oath and broke the truce, he has been punished and rightly put to death for his perjury. But seeing that Proxenus and Menon are your benefactors and our generals, send them hither. Clearly since they are friends of us both, they will try to give the very best advice to you and to us.” At that the barbarians conversed with each other at length, and then rode away without replying. ⁵

1. i.e. unarmed. The Greek is a little ambiguous. Just as it could be in English, with a literal translation “as if going to market.” It could mean “on the pretense of going to market.” Or “without carrying weapons.” [↩]
2. his friend, who invited him on the expedition. Up until this point, Xenophon was not an officer. [↩]
3. kakiste, a really powerful Greek insult, “dirtbag, pondscum, motherf*er” come to mind. [↩]
4. more literal would be ‘atheistic,’ but the point is that Tissaphernes did not hesitate to break an oath sworn before the gods [↩]
5. So far, this is my favorite sentence in the Anabasis. [↩]