repudiated the revolution and swore loyalty to the
democracy, claiming to be the true representatives of the Athenian
state. Moreover, they allied themselves with Alcibiades, expecting
through him to receive Persian support; and, happily for Athens, he
succeeded in restraining the fleet--which was still more than a match
for all adversaries--from sailing back to the Piraeus to subvert the rule
of the Four Hundred. The more patriotic of the oligarchs saw, in fact,
that the best hopes for the state lay in the establishment of a limited
democracy; with the result that the extreme oligarchs, who would have
joined hands with the enemy, were overthrown, and the rule of the Five
Thousand replaced that of the Four Hundred, providing Athens with the
best administration it had ever known. A great naval victory was won by
the Athenian fleet, under the command of Thrasybulus, over a slightly
larger Peloponnesian fleet at Cynossema.

* * * * *

XENOPHON

Anabasis

Xenophon was born at Athens about B.C. 430, and died probably
in 355. He was an Athenian gentleman who in his early-manhood
was an intimate member of the Socratic circle. In 401 he
joined the expedition of Cyrus, recorded in the "Anabasis,"
and did not again take up his residence in Athens. The
"Anabasis" must be introduced by an historical note. In the
year 404 B.C. the Peloponnesian war was brought to a close by
a peace establishing the Lacedaemonian supremacy consequent
upon the crowning disaster to the Athenians at Aegos Potami.
In the same year the Persian king Darius Nothus died, and was
succeeded on the throne by his son Artaxerxes. His younger
son, Cyrus, determined to make a bid for the throne. He had
personal knowledge of the immense superiority of the Greek
soldiery and the Greek discipline over those of the Eastern
nations. Accordingly, he planned to obtain the services of a
large contingent of Greek mercenaries, who had become the more
readily available since the internecine struggle between the
two leading states of Hellas had been brought to an end. The
term "Anabasis," or "going up," applies properly to the
advance into the interior; the retreat, with which the work is
mainly concerned, is the "Katabasis." The author writes his
record in the third person. This epitome has been specially
adapted fo