Cyrus' Paradise: The World's First Online Collaborative Commentary to an Ancient Text

[First posted in AWOL  10 June 2015, updates 20 June 2017]

Cyrus' Paradise: The World's First Online Collaborative Commentary to an Ancient Text

The Future of Reading Ancient Literature

¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 Take a Site Tour to learn all the features of the site. To learn about becoming a Principal Commenter click here.

¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 Cyrus’ Paradise is the world’s first comprehensive, online,How can we transform the individual book-commentary into a collaborative, online commentary?collaborative commentary for a Classical text: Xenophon’s Education of Cyrus or Cyropaedia (more on Xenophon here and here). Cyrus’ Paradise features comments, multimedia (pictures, audio, video), bibliography, and grammatical and syntactical instruction from authorized users (for example, see here).

¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0 The Education of Cyrus (c. 365 BCE) is a narrative composed by Xenophon the Athenian, treating the life of the first king of the Persian Empire, Cyrus “the Great” (c. 600-530 BCE, more here), from his youth in the Persian educational system (agôgê) to his conquest of Babylon and establishment of one of the ancient world’s first large empires. Many throughout history have been interested in the Education of Cyrus, including Alexander “the Great”, the Roman general Scipio Africanus, Cicero, Machiavelli, Philip Sidney, and Thomas Jefferson, as well as several modern political scientists. In the past thirty years the work has seen a resurgence of scholarly interest, whether it is read as a handbook on leadership, a proto-novel, a relic of Achaemenid (early Persian) culture and Iranian folklore, a quasi-biography or history, a military treatise, an exploration of the emotions (e.g., romantic love, envy), or a philosophical engagement with many of the questions of childhood education, human psychology, justice, and the ideal society that were familiar to Athenians of the early fourth century like Plato and Isocrates.

¶ 4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0 As the descriptor “collaborative commentary” suggests, many people have been involved in bringing this site into being, and the numbers are growing; you can read more about them here. We welcome any questions and informed comments to any part of the site. If you are interested in becoming involved with the project in a more official capacity, please e-mail us.

• Becoming a Principal Commenter in Cyrus’ Paradise
• Book 1
  • Chapter 1.1: The Problem of Ruling Humans and the Solution of Cyrus
  • Chapter 1.2: The Persian Moral and Martial Education
  • Chapter 1.3: Cyrus Has His Persian Education Tested among the Medes
  • Chapter 1.4: Friendship with Medan youths, Hunting, and Distinguished Warfare
  • Chapter 1.5: Cyrus Prepares to Join the Medan Campaign against the Assyrians
  • Chapter 1.6: Cyrus Recalls the Lessons of Cambyses and Seeks Further Knowledge
• Book 2
  • Chapter 2.1: Cyrus Implements Cambyses’ Principles of Generalship in the Persian Army
  • Chapter 2.2: Cyrus Conducts Dinner Parties with a Blend of Seriousness and Charm
  • Chapter 2.3: Cyrus Convinces the Army to Accept Rewards from Battle According to Merit
  • Chapter 2.4: Cyrus Hatches a Plan to Recover Tribute from the Armenians
• Book 3
  • Chapter 3.1: Cyrus makes the Armenian king and his son Tigranes into better friends
  • Chapter 3.2: Cyrus Forges an Alliance between the Armenians and Chaldaeans
  • Chapter 3.3: Cyrus and the Army Engage in Their First Battle with the Assyrians
• Book 4
  • Chapter 4.1: Cyrus praises his army for its victory and makes plans for pursuing the Assyrians.
  • Chapter 4.2: Cyrus finds allies in the rebelling Hyrcanians who guide him in his successful attack on the Assyrians.
  • Chapter 4.3: Cyrus proposes that the Persians develop a cavalry and they agree.
  • Chapter 4.4: Cyrus makes terms with the captive inhabitants.
  • Chapter 4.5: Cyrus receives an angry summons from Cyaxares and invites his allies to divide up the spoils as they see fit.
  • Chapter 4.6: The Assyrian Gobryas surrenders to Cyrus and asks for aid in avenging his son.
• Book 5
  • Chapter 5.1: Cyrus debates the powers of love with Araspas and assesses his allies’ willingness to continue with the pursuit of the Assyrians.
  • Chapter 5.2: Cyrus visits Gobryas and hatches his plan with him to march to Babylon to ally themselves with the eunuch who had been wronged by the Assyrian king.
  • Chapter 5.3: Cyrus allies himself with the Assyrian eunuch, Gadatas, they take an important fortress in Babylon, and they then set out to help Gadatas defend his lands against the Assyrian king.
  • Chapter 5.4: Cyrus rescues Gadatas from a treacherous plot, avenges the reckless Cadusians, and prepares to make war on Babylon.
  • Chapter 5.5: Cyrus’ vast alliance shames Cyaxares, but he wins him over by demonstrating his good will.
• Book 6
  • Chapter 6.1: Cyrus convinces the armies not to disband; he prepares to occupy some Assyrian garrisons for the winter, sends Araspas on a spy-mission, and reunites Pantheia with Abradatas.
  • Chapter 6.2: When Cyrus and the army learn of the magnitude of the Assyrian campaign, Cyrus raises everyone’s spirits by reminding them of their preparation and past successes and then gives them specific instructions.
  • Chapter 6.3: Cyrus gathers information from the enemy, through prisoners and Araspas, and then instructs the men to take their positions for battle.
  • Chapter 6.4: Pantheia and Abradatas have an illustrious and tearful parting, then Cyrus exhorts everyone to battle.
• Book 7
  • Chapter 7.1: Cyrus does battle with Croesus and makes allies of the Egyptians; Abradatas dies valiantly.
  • Chapter 7.2: Cyrus takes Sardis and Croesus comes to enjoy the good life.
  • Chapter 7.3: Pantheia commits suicide at the burial of Abradatas.
  • Chapter 7.4: Cyrus acquires a few more allies and heads to Babylon.
  • Chapter 7.5: Cyrus takes Babylon by rerouting the Euphrates and entering by night while the Babylonians are in celebration; he transitions from a general into a king by worrying about how to maintain his vast empire.
• Book 8
  • Chapter 8.1: Cyrus trains his people by example.
  • Chapter 8.2: The many facets of Cyrus’ philanthropia.
  • Chapter 8.3: Cyrus processes in state and matches Pheraulas with a Sacian, to the delight of both, one helping his friends, the other managing the wealth.
  • Chapter 8.4: At a banquet Cyrus plays the wit and matchmaker and then explains his views on sharing wealth with friends.
  • Chapter 8.5: Cyrus visits Media and Persia, where he marries Cyaxares’ daughter and makes a covenant with the Persians.
  • Chapter 8.6: Cyrus institutes satrapies that will administer his empire and profits thereby.
  • Chapter 8.7: Cyrus senses that death is near; summoning his friends and sons, he advises the sons to be faithful to one another and he gives instructions on his burial.
  • Chapter 8.8: The many forms of Persian decline after Cyrus.
• The Future of Reading Ancient Literature
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgements
• Resources