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Audiobook edition · 14 h 3 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Victory ends a war, but who can hold the peace when every Greek city guards its own power?
In Hellenica, Xenophon takes up Greek history exactly where Thucydides stops, in the middle of the Peloponnesian War. Athens fights on, Alcibiades returns from exile, and Sparta presses its advantage. Marches, ambushes and quarrels bring the struggle close, as the fate of cities rests on decisions made by generals and rulers.
Xenophon follows Greek affairs for almost fifty years, through Spartan rule, Persian intervention and the rise of Thebes. An Athenian soldier with close ties to Sparta, he writes with an eye for command and sudden reversals. His loyalties, his belief in divine punishment for broken oaths, and his silences also shape the account.
What you’ll discover
- War through a soldier's eyes Follow marches and ambushes with a writer who knows the demands of military life.
- Athens under mounting pressure Meet Alcibiades and Lysander as victories and dangerous choices shape the struggle for power.
- The burden of victory Watch Sparta confront the harder task of ruling after winning a war.
- Persia in Greek affairs See Persian money and royal terms reach into the quarrels of Greek cities.
- A historian with loyalties Read for Xenophon's admiration of good command, while noticing his choices and omissions.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who enjoy ancient history told by a man who was there, and anyone who likes speeches, stratagems and sharp sketches of generals and statesmen.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- War depends on grain and money
- Popularity cannot replace discipline and funding
- Anger turns victory against its commanders
- An exposed fleet leaves Athens helpless
- Tyranny grows by silencing objections
- Forgiveness opens a path beyond revenge
- Persian money reaches beyond the battlefield
- Spartan power overreaches its own peace
- Loyalty survives while alliances grow weaker
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Hellenica
by Xenophon
Spartan fleets, Athenian courtrooms and a Theban wedge collide in Xenophon's eyewitness history of Greece at war.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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In short
How does a great city lose a war it seemed to be winning? Xenophon's Hellenica answers that question, and it begins in a narrow strait where Athenian and Spartan ships fight over the grain that feeds Athens.
Hellenica at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 50 min6 h 10 min fast, 9 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 111,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- about 360 BCby Xenophon
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The war turns on the Hellespont
The book opens in the middle of a war. Xenophon begins with sea fights in the Hellespont, the strait that carries the grain that feeds Athens. Whoever holds it can feed a city or starve it.
Off Abydos the Spartan admiral Mindarus fights the Athenians, helped by the Persian satrap Pharnabazus. The battle hangs even until Alcibiades arrives with eighteen ships. Later, at Cyzicus, he sails through pouring rain, and Mindarus finds his ships cut off from their harbor. Mindarus dies fighting, and the Athenians take nearly every ship.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 9 h 5 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Xenophon. Hellenica. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/hellenica.
Xenophon. (2026). Hellenica. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/hellenica (Original work published ca. 360 B.C.E.)
Xenophon. Hellenica. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/hellenica.
@book{xenophon2026hellenica,
author = {Xenophon},
title = {Hellenica},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/hellenica},
note = {First published ca. 360 BCE}
}
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What is Xenophon's Hellenica about?
It is a history of Greece from 411 BC to the battle of Mantinea in 362 BC. It covers the end of the Peloponnesian War, the Thirty in Athens, Spartan power, and the rise of Thebes.
Is Hellenica a continuation of Thucydides?
Yes in a sense. It begins in 411 BC, close to where Thucydides' History stops, and carries the story forward. Xenophon writes in his own plainer style and adds personal judgments about leaders and morals.
Who were the Thirty in Hellenica?
They were thirty Athenians chosen after Athens surrendered in 404 BC to draft new laws. Led by Critias, they ruled by terror and killed many citizens, including Theramenes, until Thrasybulus and the exiles overthrew them.
The author
Xenophon
430 BC–353 BC · Ancient Greek historian and philosopher
Greek philosopher, historian, and soldier.
More by Xenophon
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