Priests of the Gods: Divination and Leadership in Xenophon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14195/1984-249X_35_08Keywords:
Xenophon, Divination, Piety, Greek ReligionAbstract
This paper’s goal is to defend the thesis put forward by Michael Flower (2016) that piety is a sine qua non of effective leadership of Xenophon and also justify the fact that the model of leader in Xenophon is "first" (and foremost) a follower of the gods. We will present examples of the use of divination in two main texts. First of all, we will present the advice offered by Xenophon in one of his didactic treatises, the Hipparchicus or Cavalry Commander. This short text was written based on his personal experience as a mercenary soldier and commander and in it he offers his advice on how to become a good commander. In the second place I shall present the practical applications of the counsels of the Hipparchicus in Anabasis, a work in which Xenophon relates the events of his expedition in 401 B.C., when he accompanied Cyrus the Younger to fight for the throne of Persia against his brother Artaxerxes and, after the death of Cyrus, led the soldiers back to Asia Minor. Anabasis exhibits one of the most complete descriptions of divination from a first-hand account. Here the main forms of Greek divination are presented: consultation of the oracle at Delphi, extispicine (reading of entrails), omens (interpretation of bird flights), and the appearance of omens of luck or signs.
Downloads
References
ANDERSON, R. (2021). Work with the god: Military divination and rational battleplanning in Xenophon. In: ADDEY, C. (ed.). Divination and Knowledge in Greco-Roman Antiquity London: Routledge, p. 84-108.
AZOULAY, V. (2018). Xenophon and the Graces of Power Wales: The Classical Press of Wales.
BACH PELLICER, R. (trad.) (1982). Jenofonte. Anábasis Madrid: Gredos.
BOWDEN, H. (2004). Xenophon and the scientific study of religion. In: TUPLIN, C. y AZOULAY, V. (eds.). Xenophon and his world Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, p. 229-245.
BUXTON, R. F. (ed.) (2016). Ch. 5. Novel Leaders for Novel Armies: Xenophon's Focus on Willing Obedience in Context. Histos: The on-line journal of ancient historiography Supplement 5: Aspects of Leadership in Xenophon. Available in: https://histos.org/index.php/histos/issue/view/15 Last access on: 11/06/2025.
» https://histos.org/index.php/histos/issue/view/15
EVANS, R. (2017). Prophets and Profits New York: Routledge.
FLOWER, M. A. (2008). The Seer in Ancient Greece Berkeley: University of California Press.
FLOWER, M. A. (2012). Xenophon's Anabasis, or The Expedition of Cyrus Oxford: Oxford University Press.
FLOWER, M. A. (2016). Ch. 3. Piety in Xenophon's Theory of Leadership. Histos: The on-line journal of ancient historiography Supplement 5: Piety in Xenophon's Theory of Leadership, p. 85-119. Available in: https://histos.org/index.php/histos/issue/view/15 Last access on: 11/06/2025.
» https://histos.org/index.php/histos/issue/view/15
LARSON, J. (2016). Understanding Greek Religion London: Routledge .
LLEDÓ IÑIGO, E. (trad.). Platón. Laques. In: LLEDÓ IÑIGO, E. y CALO GE RUIZ, J. (trads.) (1985). Platón. Diálogos I Madrid: Gredos .
MARCHANT, E. C. (ed.) (1921). Xenophontis Opera omnia. Oxford: E Typographeo Clarendoniano. Scriptorum classicorum bibliotheca Oxoniensis. (1ed. 1900).
MCPHERRAN, M. L. (1996). The religion of Socrates. University Park, Pa: Pennsylvania State Univ. Press.
PELLING, C. (2016). Xenophon's Authorial Voice. In: FLOWER, M. A. (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Xenophon Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 241-262.
PÉREZ JIMÉNEZ, A.; LÓPEZ PÉREZ, J. A. (trads.) (1984). Jenofonte. Obras Menores. Hierón, Agesilao, La República de los Lacedemonios, Los ingresos Públicos, El Jefe de Caballería, De la equitación, De la Caza Madrid: Gredos.
POWNALL, F. S. (1998). Condemnation of the impious in Xenophon's Hellenica. The Harvard Theological Review 91, n. 3, p. 251-277.
VEGAS SANSALVADOR, A. (trad.) (1987). Jenofonte. Ciropedia Madrid: Gredos .
ZARAGOZA, J. (trad.) (1993). Jenofonte. Recuerdos de Sócrates, Económico, Banquete, Apología de Sócrates Madrid: Gredos.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Florencia Castro Possi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Given the public access policy of the journal, the use of the published texts is free, with the obligation of recognizing the original authorship and the first publication in this journal. The authors of the published contributions are entirely and exclusively responsible for their contents.
1. The authors authorize the publication of the article in this journal.
2. The authors guarantee that the contribution is original, and take full responsibility for its content in case of impugnation by third parties.
3. The authors guarantee that the contribution is not under evaluation in another journal.
4. The authors keep the copyright and convey to the journal the right of first publication, the work being licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License-BY.
5. The authors are allowed and stimulated to publicize and distribute their work on-line after the publication in the journal.
6. The authors of the approved works authorize the journal to distribute their content, after publication, for reproduction in content indexes, virtual libraries and similars.
7. The editors reserve the right to make adjustments to the text and to adequate the article to the editorial rules of the journal.
