Books A', B'. Continuation of Thucydides' history from 411 BC to 403 BC. The destruction at the Aegospotami. The Thirty Tyrants. Restoration of democracy. Thrasybulus.

Xenophon was born between 440 and 425 BC. He came from a wealthy family in Athens and as a young man was a student of Socrates. His love for military life, perhaps a result of his admiration for the Doric ideal, overcame his inclination towards philosophy.

In 401 BC, he went to Persia, where he followed Cyrus in his campaign against his brother Artaxerxes II. After the battle at Cunaxa, he was elected general by the Ten Thousand Greek mercenaries.

Xenophon's works, historical, philosophical, and didactic, are, on one hand, a significant source for the events of his time and, on the other hand, a composition of moral and pedagogical reflections, in a spirit of simplicity, while characterized by the artistic and clear Attic style.

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