Anábasis

Xenophon (c. 430-354 BC) is one of the most outstanding prose writers that Athens produced in her classical period. His Attic training (he studied with Socrates) and his military experience, born from his admiration for Sparta, gave him a rich background in life that made him an eclectic author, who cultivated the historical genre, philosophy and didactic essay. Anabasis, his best work, is the incredible first-person account of the historic retreat of a Greek army that had advanced into enemy territory as far as Cunaxa, near ancient Babylon. Xenophon was one of the generals responsible for leading a contingent of more than ten thousand soldiers through hostile territory to reach the Mediterranean again.