Posts Tagged by Cyropaedia

In his “biography” of the first king of the Persian Empire, Xenophon says of Cyrus the Great: In his nature Cyrus is reputed and still celebrated even now among the barbarians as most beautiful in his form and most loving of humanity (φιλανθρωπότατος) in his soul, as well as most loving of learning (φιλομαθέστατος) and most loving of being honored (φιλοτιμότατος), to the point that he would endure every labor and undergo every danger in order to be praised. (Cyropaedia 1.2.1) What does Xenophon mean by philanthrôpia, philomatheia, and philotîmia? To what extent does Xenophon see these traits as fundamental to his conception of Cyrus’ leadership (e.g., as philosophia is fundamental to Plato’s Philosopher King); and to what extent do these traits agree with other notions of great leadership in Xenophon’s Athenian contemporaries, Plato and Isocrates, e.g., in their descriptions of the Philosopher King and the Cyprian king Evagoras? The… more