Hellenica

Hellenica (Ancient Greek: Ἑλληνικά) simply means writings on Greek (Hellenic) subjects. Several histories of the 4th-century BC Greece have borne the conventional Latin title Hellenica, of which very few survive. The most notable of the surviving histories is the Hellenica of the Ancient Greek writer Xenophon (also known as Hellenika, or A History of My Times).

The work was intended as a continuation of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, which was left unfinished and ends abruptly in the year 411 BC. Xenophon's Hellenica covers the years 411-362 BC, through the end of the Peloponnesian War and its aftermath.

Hellenica is usually considered to be a difficult work for modern audiences to understand, as Xenophon often assumed his reader's knowledge of events.

There are many theories on how and when Hellenica was written, but most scholars believe that Xenophon wrote the majority of it in the later years of his life, from around 362-356 BC. The first section (1.1.1-2.3.10), which covers the end of the Peloponnesian War, was probably written much earlier, in the mid-380s BC. Some have suggested that this early section was an attempt to mimic Thucydides, as it follows a strict chronological structure and minimizes religious significance, however, the respective writing styles are still distinctly different. The later sections through to the end of the work (2.3.11-7.5.27) are less strict in their chronological order, often following singular stories to their completion before going back and filling in events that had happened elsewhere.

While Hellenica contains inaccuracies, it is generally considered that Xenophon didn't include anything he knew to be untrue. He shows a bias towards Sparta, most clearly through his dislike of Sparta's rival Thebes, describing them as foolish and cowardly in battle. The exclusion of certain significant events, such as the establishment of the Arcadian League and the Second Athenian League, the construction of Megalopolis, and the refoundation of Messene, all favor Sparta. However, it is possible that these events were left out because they were common knowledge to his readers. Also, despite this reputation for bias, Hellenica includes few evaluative phrases that directly praise or criticize its subjects.

Xenophon wrote his history soon after the events had occurred. As he was himself a cavalryman, the importance of cavalry in battles is emphasized, particularly in reference to Persia. He relied primary on his own memory, as well as testimony of others, mostly friends who visited him. As he trusted these eyewitnesses, rarely did he find multiple sources for an event, resulting in occasionally limited perspectives and unbalanced coverage.

Hellenica is divided into seven books that cover the era between the golden age of Athens and the rise of Macedon.

The first two narrate the final years of the Peloponnesian War, while the remaining books (three to seven) focus primarily on Sparta as the dominant city-state in Greece after the Peloponnesian War, continuing into the period known as the Theban hegemony following Sparta's defeat at the battle of Leuctra.^{[citation needed]} The main concerns are the power struggle between Athens and Sparta, as well as the ideological struggle between democracy and oligarchy.