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The lengthiest and most famous of Xenophon's Socratic writings, the Memorabilia is a defense of Socrates, offering edifying examples of Socrates' conversations and activities. Xenophon argues that Socrates was innocent of the formal charges against him: failure to recognize the gods of Athens, introduction of new gods, and corruption of youth. He demonstrates through recounted conversations how Socrates benefited Athenians and their society. The Memorabilia is assumed to have been completed after 371 BC, as the text makes reference to the Spartan defeat at the Battle of Leuctra in that year. Xenophon likely aimed to reach a wider range of readers, many of whom may have welcomed the down-to-earth advice his depiction of Socrates gives. Xenophon's portrayal of Socrates was highly influential to Athenian society, and assists modern scholars in understanding how various schools of ancient thought made use of Socrates. This cloth-bound book includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket, and is limited to 100 copies.

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Xenophon of Athens (c. 431 BC - 354 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, historian, soldier, mercenary, and student of Socrates. As a soldier, Xenophon became commander of the Ten Thousand at about 30, with noted military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge saying of him, the centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior. He established the precedent for many logistical operations and was among the first to use flanking maneuvers, feints and attacks in depth. He was among the greatest commanders of antiquity. As a historian, Xenophon is known for recording the history of his time, the late-5th and early-4th centuries BC, in such works as the Hellenica, which covered the final seven years and the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), thus representing a thematic continuation of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. As one of the Ten Thousand (Greek mercenaries), Xenophon participated in Cyrus the Younger's failed campaign to claim the Persian throne from his brother Artaxerxes II of Persia. He recounted the events in Anabasis, his most notable history. Like Plato, Xenophon is an authority on Socrates, about whom he wrote several books of dialogues (the Memorabilia) and an Apology of Socrates to the Jury, which recounts the philosopher's trial in 399 BC. Despite being born an Athenian citizen, Xenophon was also associated with Sparta, the traditional enemy of Athens. His pro-oligarchic politics, military service under Spartan generals in the Persian campaign and elsewhere, and his friendship with King Agesilaus II endeared Xenophon to the Spartans. Some of his works have a pro-Spartan bias, especially the royal biography Agesilaus and the Constitution of the Spartans. Xenophon's works span several genres and are written in plain-language Attic Greek, for which reason they serve as translation exercises for contemporary students of the Ancient Greek language. In the Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Diogenes Laertius observed that, as a writer, Xenophon of Athens was known as the Attic Muse, for the sweetness of his diction.

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