Page:A History of Ancient Greek Literature.djvu/341

 RESULTS OF THE ANABASIS 317 have been more prosperous. His family soothsayer had told him so. The expedition had left in him some half- confessed feeling that he was an dpxi'Ko^ dvijp, a man born to command. He wrote a long romance, the Cyropcsdciay or training of Cyrus, about this ideal dp")(iKo<i dvT]p, in which a slight substratum of the history of Cyrus the Great was joined with traits drawn from the younger Cyrus and from Xenophon's own conception of what he would like to be. That was later. At this time he more than once had dreams of founding a colony in Asia, and being a philosophic soldier-king. Failing that, he wanted to have a castle or two near the Hellespont, and act as an independent champion of Hellas against the barbarian. But nobody else wished it, and Xenophon would not push or intrigue. He drifted. He could not return to Athens, which was then engaged in putting his master to death, and would probably meet him with a charge of high treason. Besides, there were no adventures for- ward in Athens ; they were all in Asia. Meanwhile the Knight-Errant of Hellas was in the position of a fili- buster at the head of some eight thousand ruffians under no particular allegiance. Some of them, he found, were discussing the price of his assassination with the Harmost Thibron, who naturally was disinclined to tolerate an independent Athenian in possession of such great and ambiguous powers. The born Ruler might have done otherwise. Xenophon handed over his army and took service under the Spartans, then allies of Athens, against Persia. It was weary work being bandied from ' harmost ' to ' harmost,' never trusted in any position of real power. However, he married happily, had good friends in the Chersonnese, and tried to be resigned. At length in 22