Xenophon of Athens

This chapter focuses on Xenophon of Athens. Assessments of Xenophon’s literary skills have always been positive in discussions about ancient Greek biography and its development. Scholars have recognized how remarkably diverse the literary forms are which he uses in order to explore character and assess individual lives, even if they do not agree precisely on which of his works ought to fall within the ambit of the study of ancient biography. The chapter examines the pivotal role the figure of Socrates plays in Xenophon’s biographical experiments. The desire to capture Socrates’ essence, to understand how and why he lived as he did, inspired a whole genre of writing—Sokratikoi logoi—which undoubtedly drew on earlier anecdotal collections such as that of Ion of Chios, but which became something more comprehensive and more biographical. A certain flexibility with truth was allowed, for if a fictionalized scenario could better represent a deeper truth about Socrates’ character and life than strict historicity, then that in the end was what was important. This flexibility with the truth characterizes all of Xenophon’s biographical experiments, though in different ways, depending upon the other aims of these works.