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karencarlson's review against another edition
Read as part of a Catherine Project tutorial, as a follow-up to the Odyssey - sort of a historical account of an odyssey through Turkey to Persia to contrast with Homer's mythological account of his post-Trojan War odyssey.
I was dubious at first, since I'm not much for war stories. But it's also a story of how different people react to stress situations, and how leaders emerge. It was also very helpful in solidifying my muddled understanding of Greek history around the Persian war and the Peloponnesian war.
FMI see my blog post at A Just Recompense.
I was dubious at first, since I'm not much for war stories. But it's also a story of how different people react to stress situations, and how leaders emerge. It was also very helpful in solidifying my muddled understanding of Greek history around the Persian war and the Peloponnesian war.
FMI see my blog post at A Just Recompense.
wunder's review against another edition
4.0
Not a page-turner, but a real document. Maybe a 2 for readability, but a 5 for the real experience of a Greek army in desperate circumstances.
The final sentence of the book is, "The distance of the entire journey, ascent and descent, was two hundred fifteen stages, one thousand one hundred fifty parasangs, or thirty-four thousand two hundred fifty-five stadia; and the the amount of the time of the ascent and descent, a year and three months." That captures the detail and the difficulty of the narrative. The distance is roughly 4500 miles, almost all on foot.
But the meat is in the speeches. Almost at the end, Xenophon says, "But I, Seuthes, do not believe that any possession is more noble or more brilliant for a man, and especially, a ruler, than virtue, justice, and generosity." That is why you read this.
The final sentence of the book is, "The distance of the entire journey, ascent and descent, was two hundred fifteen stages, one thousand one hundred fifty parasangs, or thirty-four thousand two hundred fifty-five stadia; and the the amount of the time of the ascent and descent, a year and three months." That captures the detail and the difficulty of the narrative. The distance is roughly 4500 miles, almost all on foot.
But the meat is in the speeches. Almost at the end, Xenophon says, "But I, Seuthes, do not believe that any possession is more noble or more brilliant for a man, and especially, a ruler, than virtue, justice, and generosity." That is why you read this.
stephen_angliss's review against another edition
2.0
What a disappointing read. My hopes were high in the beginning. A story about a Greek mercenary army that invades Persia on behalf of Cyrus' brother in an attempt to take the throne? Captivating. That same Greek army defeating the Persians, but losing their leader in battle, leaving them stranded thousands of miles deep in enemy territory? Even more captivating.
But the work reads less like an ancient version of "Lord of the Rings" and more like a dryly typed mission report. The story lacks drama and rich characters. It provides no satisfying ending and leaves one wondering how such a great story could be so poorly told.
But the work reads less like an ancient version of "Lord of the Rings" and more like a dryly typed mission report. The story lacks drama and rich characters. It provides no satisfying ending and leaves one wondering how such a great story could be so poorly told.
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