1 Xenophon’s Anabasis

After narrating Tissaphernes’ imprisonment of the Greek generals, Xenophon gives a brief portrait of each imprisoned general. On Meno he begins with his personal view of him:

‘Menon the Thessalian was manifestly eager for enormous wealth – eager for command in order to get more wealth and eager for honour in order to increase his gains; and he desired to be a friend to the men who possessed greatest power in order that he might commit unjust deeds without suffering the penalty.’

Eagerness for command and for honour as such were not blame-worthy in Xenophon’s eyes. What was wrong with Meno was his subjugation of these aims to his eagerness for enormous wealth. This comes to the fore if we compare Xenophon’s portrait of Meno with his portrayal of Clearchus, the unelected leader of the Greek mercenaries:

‘Clearchus by common consent … was both fitted for war and fond of war to the last degree. For as long as the Lacedaemonians [the Spartans] were at war with the Athenians, he bore his part with them; then, as soon as the peace had come, he persuaded his state that the Thracians were injuring the Greeks [‘i.e. the Greek colonists in the Thracian Chersonese’, notes Brownson, the translator], and, after gaining this point as best he could from the effors [‘The effors, five in number, were the ruling officials in Sparta’, notes Brownson], set sail with the intention of making war upon the Thracians who dwelt beyond the Chersonese and Perinthus. When, however, the effors changed their minds – after he had already gone, they tried to turn him back from the Isthmus of Corinth –  at that point he declined to render further obedience, but went sailing off to Hellespont. As a result he was condemned to death by the authorities of Sparta on the ground of disobedience to orders. Being now an exile he came to Cyrus, Cyrus gave him ten thousand darics, and he, upon receiving this money, did not turn his thoughts to comfortable idleness, but used it to collect an army and proceeded to make war upon the Thracians, and he kept up the war until Cyrus wanted his army,’

But let me return to Meno. Reflecting on his personal account of the man, Xenophon says:

‘To be sure, in matters that are not manifest [ta aphané] one may be mistaken about him, but the facts which everybody knows about him [ha de pantes isasi] are the following. From Aristippus he secured, while still in bloom of his youth, an appointment as general of his mercenaries [In Plato’s Meno Socrates speaks of Aristippus as Meno’s lover: ho sos erastés Aristippos (70b5).]; with Ariaeus, who was a barbarian [the most trusted general under Cyrus’ command], he became extremely intimate for the reason that Ariaeus was fond of beautiful youths; and lastly, he himself, while still beardless, had a bearded favourite (paidika) named Tharypas. Now when his fellow-generals were put to death for joining Cyrus in his expedition against the King, he, who has done the same thing, was not so treated, but it was after the execution of the other generals that the King visited the punishment of death upon him; and he was not, like Clearchus and the rest of the generals, beheaded – a manner of death which is counted speediest – but, report says, was tortured alive for a year (aikistheis eniauton) and so met the death of a scoundrel (hós ponéros legetai tés teleutés tuchein).’

This needs explanation, for right after Tissaphernes imprisoned the Greek generals, Meno was proclaimed a benefactor of the Persians. Ariaeus, Tissaphernes’ messenger, said: ‘Clearchus, men of Greece, inasmuch as he was shown to be purjuring himself and violating the truce, has received his deserts and is dead, but Proxenus and Menon, because they gave information of his plotting, are held in great honour. What made him a scoundrel, tortured alive for a year before being put to death?

What did Tissaphernes expect to gain by imprisoning the generals of the Greek mercenaries? He sent Ariaeus to the Greeks with the following message: ‘The King demands your arms; for he says that they belong to him, since they belonged to Cyrus, his slave.’ This was nothing new. He sent the same message to the Greeks after the death of Cyrus. At that point Clearchus replied: ‘In our view, if we are to be friends of the King, we should be more valuable friends if we keep our arms than if we give them up to someone else, and if we are to wage war with him, we would wage war better if we keep our arms than if we give them up to someone else.’ The scheme was clever; if it succeeded, its lesson would have been unmistakable: ‘If you enter the Persian empire desirous to conquer the King, you end up at best as his mercenaries.’

Xenophon replied to Ariaeus as  follows: ‘Well then, if Clearchus was really transgressing the truce in violating his oaths, he has his deserts, for it is right that perjurers should perish; but as for Proxenus and Menon, since they are your benefactors and our generals, send them hither, for it is clear that, being friends of both parties, they will endeavour to give both you and ourselves the best advice.’  To this the barbarians made no answer, but, after talking for a long time with one another, they departed.