I find it helpful to take a step back from day to day reading to consider overall themes that show up over spans of reading time. That’s what I do in this episode. I look at the first half of reading for 2025 and talk about the 19 books I’ve read so far. I then talk about my favorite books, things I enjoy about Greek Literature, and share the one idea so far this year that has had the biggest impact.

Last week, I discussed Anabasis by Xenophon, which covers the failed attempt of Cyrus the Younger to rule the Persian Empire with the help of 10,000+ Greek Mercenaries. The Education of Cyrus covers a different Cyrus, Cyrus the Great (600 - 530BC). This is the Cyrus in the Bible. The Cyrus of the British Museum’s Cyrus Cylinder. The Cyrus who conquered the Babylonians.

The Education of Cyrus differs from Xenophon’s Hellenika and Anabasis in that it is largely a fictionalized account of Cyrus’ life. It allows Xenophon to share his moral philosophy and teachings through a famous person. It’s exciting and informative but also quite weird in that Cyrus repeatedly prays and sacrifices to Zeus and Hera, something Cyrus would not have done. It’s a mix of fact and fiction.

Some have found it helpful to think of this book as a novel. Others as a moral treatise. It influenced Machiavelli’s The Prince and Thomas Jefferson was said to be fond of it. I felt like I was gaining secret knowledge in parts of it. Other parts moved slowly along before moving into the brilliant strategic move to take down the Babylonian empire.

In this episode, I provide an overview of the book, discuss the fact or fiction debate, highlight wise leadership by Cyrus, and share the one thing I can’t get out of my head.

Show Notes:

* Version of The Education of Cyrus that I read

The Persian Cyrus the Younger recruits Greek mercenaries (12,900 to be exact, although Ten Thousand has a nicer ring to it) to help him try to claim the throne of Persia. The battle doesn’t go well, Cyrus loses a hand and a head, and the Greeks are forced to retreat to their country of origin. These events, take place between 401 - 399BC.

Anabasis means a movement upwards, but can also refer both to an advance and a retreat. Both occur in this work, with Xenophon not only authoring the work but being a main character in the history.

Xenophon was both a friend and a student of the philosopher Socrates. He was also a leader of these soldiers and he used what he learned from Socrates to try to persuade his men.

This is an action-packed thriller of a tale. The Greeks meet unique people groups with wild customs, eat some mad honey, and party with clowns. All the while, they are longing to return home, a place many of them will never see again.