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 | | The Education of Cyrus (Agora Editions) by Xenophon, Wayne Ambler (Translator), Wayne Ambler (Contributor) ISBN-10: 9780801487507 ISBN-10: 0-8014-8750-1 ISBN-13: 9780801487507 ISBN-13: 978-0-8014-8750-7 Paperback 2001-08 Cornell University Press Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description Xenophon's masterpiece The Education of Cyrus--a work admired by Machiavelli for its lessons on leadership--is at last available in a new English translation for a new century. Also known as the Cyropaedia, this philosophical novel is loosely based on the accomplishments of Cyrus the Great, founder of the vast Persian Empire that later became the archrival of the Greeks in the classical age. It offers an extraordinary portrait of political ambition, talent, and their ultimate limits. The writings of Xenophon are increasingly recognized as important works of political philosophy. In The Education of Cyrus, Xenophon confronts the vexing problem of political instability by exploring the character and behavior of the ruler. Impressive though his successes are, however, Cyrus is also examined in the larger human context, in which love, honor, greed, revenge, folly, piety, and the search for wisdom all have important parts to play. Wayne Ambler's prose captures the charm and drama of the work while also achieving great accuracy. His introduction, annotations, and glossary help the reader to appreciate both the engaging story itself and the volume's contributions to philosophy. | ||
Reviews | ||
definitely not history This book is a difficult one to evaluate. It is definitely not a history. No human being in history (or even outside of history) has ever been as consistently reasoned, calm, clear-headed, and universally admired as the Cyrus portrayed here. It's a nice little three hundred page homily which in places is fun to read but in others is quite tedious, because Cyrus never seems to perform any action on impulse but always has everything perfectly (and sickeningly) calculated in advance. Even scholars can't seem to agree on what Xenophon's true purpose was in writing this. For me, this book only shows that not all works that are old should be considered "classics," and that sometimes there are good reasons that they are "neglected" and "overlooked." If you really want to read this book, just read the first forty pages, any random forty pages in the middle, and then the last ten, and you will have saved yourself two hundred pages of reading without missing a single thing. | ||
not what you may think... My apologies to Xenophon, those who liked this book, and those who were intrigued by a book written about Cyrus the Great just 150 years after his reign, but I considered the book a waste and difficult to read as well. Beware, the book is more of a historical fiction than a historical document, like Herodotus or Thucydides. I distinctly felt as if Xenophon was distorting reality and trying to portray Cyrus in idealistic Greek terms, educated, compassionate, balanced, egalitarian, etc, almost as if Xenophon was trying to rehabilitate the Persian Empire's reputation following its defeat at the hands of the Greeks one hundred years earlier. If you like homilies this is the book for you, but if you want to learn more about a great ruler who rapidly and with great skill and talent created a vast empire, there are probably better books to read. | ||
persians were Barbarians and savages in the eyes of the Greeks This book is fine as a modernization of an ancient classic but several things need to be understood. Xenophon never intended to write a biography of Cyrus. He was writing an idealized portrait of a long dead Persian ruler. He combined what he knew about Persia, a few facts about the historical Cyrus and a fictional vision of a what he thought was the ideal ruler. The original is much closer to Maciavelli's the Prince in purpose than it is to Plutarch's "Lives". So when credit is being given for the wisdom in the book, it must be given directly to Xenophon, not Cyrus. You learn very little about Cyrus and Persians in the original and a lot about Xenophon and Greeks (particularly Sparta, Xenophon's real life ideal.) | ||
Review of Ambler's Cyropaedia This translation is incredibly easy to read; I enjoyed it very much. My only complaint is that it uses endnotes rather than footnotes. Even so, the translation is so approachable that one can garner much from this work with little historical background. The introduction is interesting if a bit of a ramble. | ||
In the name of Iran This book was indepth research of King of kings Cyrus the Great with respect how did He became the King of Persia/Iran. Interestingly, Cyrus the Great became the King of Iran not by having large army but by hard work, and relying on His good allies and friends to establish His empire. If English is your second language or if you are first time reader of Cyrus the Great you may wish to read this book "Xenophon's Cyrus The Great" by Larry HEDRICK in order to grasp King of kings Cyrus the Great very well. Ahura Mazda be with you. | ||