Hellenica (Xenophon)
Encyclopedia
Hellenica simply means writings on Greek— Hellenic— subjects. Several histories of fourth-century Greece, written in the mold of Thucydides
or straying from it, have borne the conventional Latin title Hellenica. The surviving Hellenica is an important work of the Greek
writer Xenophon
and one of the principal sources for the final seven years of the Peloponnesian War
not covered by Thucydides
, and the war's aftermath.
breaks off and ends in 362 BCE, the year of the Battle of Mantineia. There is virtually no transition between the two works, to the extent that the opening words of Hellenica, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, are translated as After this, or sometimes Following these events.
and that by Theopompus of Chios. Ephorus attempted a universal history
, and though he attempted to set apart history from myth, he began his work with the legend
ary "Return of the sons of Heracles", which modern readers understand as wholly mythic aitia. As a pupil of the rhetorician Isocrates
he was not above embroidering his narrative with believable circumstantial detail. Oswyn Murray remarked "His style and completeness unfortunately made him rather popular, but at least he stands out as one who had thought about the purposes that history should serve, and got them wrong." The Hellenica of Theopompus, another pupil of Isocrates, was a continuation of Thucydides.
Yet another, fragmentary Hellenica found in papyrus
at Oxyrhynchus
, is known as Hellenica Oxyrhynchia
; it covered events from 411 to the year of the Battle of Cnidus
, 395/4 BCE. It has been tentatively attributed to several known historians.
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
or straying from it, have borne the conventional Latin title Hellenica. The surviving Hellenica is an important work of the Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
writer Xenophon
Xenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
and one of the principal sources for the final seven years of the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
not covered by Thucydides
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
, and the war's aftermath.
Xenophon's Hellenica
Many consider this a very personal work, written by Xenophon in retirement on his Spartan estate, intended primarily for circulation among his friends, for people who knew the main protagonists and events, often because they had participated in them. Xenophon's account starts in 411 BCE, the year where ThucydidesThucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
breaks off and ends in 362 BCE, the year of the Battle of Mantineia. There is virtually no transition between the two works, to the extent that the opening words of Hellenica, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, are translated as After this, or sometimes Following these events.
Other works titled Hellenica
Among competing works under this title, now lost, two stand out, that written by Ephorus of CymeEphorus
Ephorus or Ephoros , of Cyme in Aeolia, in Asia Minor, was an ancient Greek historian. Information on his biography is limited; he was the father of Demophilus, who followed in his footsteps as a historian, and to Plutarch's claim that Ephorus declined Alexander the Great's offer to join him on his...
and that by Theopompus of Chios. Ephorus attempted a universal history
Universal history
Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography, especially the Abrahamic wellspring of that tradition. Simply stated, universal history is the presentation of the history of humankind as a whole, as a coherent unit.-Ancient authors:...
, and though he attempted to set apart history from myth, he began his work with the legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
ary "Return of the sons of Heracles", which modern readers understand as wholly mythic aitia. As a pupil of the rhetorician Isocrates
Isocrates
Isocrates , an ancient Greek rhetorician, was one of the ten Attic orators. In his time, he was probably the most influential rhetorician in Greece and made many contributions to rhetoric and education through his teaching and written works....
he was not above embroidering his narrative with believable circumstantial detail. Oswyn Murray remarked "His style and completeness unfortunately made him rather popular, but at least he stands out as one who had thought about the purposes that history should serve, and got them wrong." The Hellenica of Theopompus, another pupil of Isocrates, was a continuation of Thucydides.
Yet another, fragmentary Hellenica found in papyrus
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
at Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus is a city in Upper Egypt, located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo, in the governorate of Al Minya. It is also an archaeological site, considered one of the most important ever discovered...
, is known as Hellenica Oxyrhynchia
Hellenica Oxyrhynchia
Hellenica Oxyrhynchia is the name given to a history of the late 5th and early 4th centuries BC in ancient Greece, of which papyrus fragments were unearthed at Oxyrhynchus, in Egypt. One of the two major fragments, the so-called London papyrus, found in 1906, deals with battles in the late...
; it covered events from 411 to the year of the Battle of Cnidus
Battle of Cnidus
The Battle of Cnidus , was a joint Athenian and Persian operation against the Spartan naval fleet in the Corinthian War. A combined Athenian-Persian fleet, led by the former Greek admiral Conon, destroyed the Spartan fleet led by the inexperienced Peisander, ending Sparta's brief bid for naval...
, 395/4 BCE. It has been tentatively attributed to several known historians.