Xenophon
had a varied and unusual career. He had no definite
profession and during a portion of his life he lived
on his estate in Greece given to him by the Spartons.
For a time he was an outstanding cavalry leader in the
Greek mercenary army which fought under Cyrus in Asia
Minor. He was noted for his love of horses, hunting,
and military pursuits.
He was presumably a student and disciple of
Socrates which indicates that he spent a portion of
his life in Athens. Both Xenophon and Plato have been
the greatest sources of information concerning
Socrates.
Xenophon spent a considerable amount of time in
writing. He composed Anabasis between 379 and
371 B.C. He wrote Memorabilia (four books) to
defend Socrates against the charge of irreligion and
of "corrupting" Athenian youth. In Oeconomicos
he presented a dialogue between Socrates and the son
of one of Socrates' friends concerning the means of
managing an estate and the problems involved therein.
His discussions covered green manuring, building up a
"poor soil" and using natural vegetation as a guide to
soil type. He presumably wrote this material as a
result of his experiences as a gentleman farmer on his
estate and while inspecting his stable, fields, and
vineyards. He employed the need for initiative and
vision in farming which apparently was as necessary
four centuries before Christ as is the case 20
centuries after.
Xenophon, The Anabasis, by Edward Spelman, New York
Harper, 1847.
________, Memorabilia and Oeconomicus, trans. E.C.
Marchant,
Cambridge, Mass., Harvard Univ. Press, 1965
