Anabasis

Anabasis is Xenophon's account of the Greek soldiers who joined Cyrus the Younger in his attempt to take the Persian throne. After Cyrus's death and the loss of their commanders, the Greeks must organize a retreat through hostile territory. Xenophon appears as both participant and narrator, describing assemblies, negotiations, provisions and the pressures of leadership. The celebrated sighting of the sea marks a major stage rather than the end of their difficulties. Military movement therefore becomes a study of collective endurance, showing how judgment and cooperation operate when formal protection and familiar institutions have fallen away.