Xenophon
3 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Xenophon. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
zen'o-fon (434-355 B. C.), a Greek historian and general. He was a native of Athens, a disciple of Socrates. He followed his teacher to war, and his life was saved by Socrates in the battle of Delium, 424 B. C. He was a member of the expedition of Cyrus the Younger in 401. After the battle of Cunaxa and murder of the Greek generals he led the 10,000 Greeks in their march to the Black Sea . Later he wrote an account of this expedition, known in literature as the Anabasis. He engaged in other military operations and acquired considerable wealth. For siding with the Spartans he was banished from Athens. Though subsequently permitted to return, he is said to have died at Corinth. His chief writings are the Anabasis, describing the march of the ten thousand; the Memorabilia or recollections of Socrates; the Cyropaedia, an alleged life of Cyrus the Elder; and the Symposium, an imaginary banquet at which Socrates is made to talk. He also wrote several works on war, hunting, agriculture, and politics. His style is simple and interesting. Greek critics called him the " Attic Muse ." The following quotation from Xenophon shows that division of labor was a live topic in his time: "In small cities the man who makes beds may make doors, plows, tables, and perhaps houses. He is glad, if, even so, he can find customers enough to provide a living; and it is plainly impossible that a man practicing many crafts should be good at them all. But in great cities, because there is a large demand for each article, a single craft is enough for a living, or sometimes, indeed, no more than a single branch of a craft. We find one man making men's boots only; and another women's only. One man lives by cutting garments; another by fitting together the pieces, the smaller, the greater the skill in the craftsman." See Anabasis ; Socrates
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a Greek historian, and philosopher; born about 430 b. c. At an early age he became a pupil of Soc. rates, and is said to have been saved from death by that philosopher at the battle of Delium. About the age of 40 he joined the expedition of the younger Cyrus against his elder brother, Artaxerxes Mnemon, King of Persia. After the battle of Cunaxa, and the treacherous massacre of the Greek generals, Xenophon played an important part in the adventurous retreat known in history of the "Retreat of the Ten Thousand"; and it was his courage and conduct that contributed mainly to its success. He afterward settled at Scillus, a small town near Olympia, in Elis, under Spartan protection, where he lived upoccupying himself ward of 20 years, with hunting, agriculture, and writing. At last he was driven from his retreat at Scillus by the Eleans, and took refuge in Corinth. His works are numerous, and, to judge by their titles and number, works are the all extant. His principal "Anabasis," or narrative of Cyrus' expedition and the "Retreat of the Ten Thousand"; a "History of Greece," in continuation of Thucydides; the "Cyro- XENOPHON pædia," or education of Cyrus the Elder, a historical romance; "Reminiscences (Memorabilia) of Socrates"; the "Symposium," a sequel to the Memorabilia; the "Economics." He wrote also a manual of cavalry instruction, a treatise on horsemanship, etc. He died after 357.
1000 Classical Characters (1900)
see page 292, A celebrated Athenian, son of Gryllus, famous as a general, philosopher, and historian. He joined Cyrus the Younger in an expedition against Artaxerxes, king of Persia, and after the decisive battle of Cunaxa, in which Cyrus was defeated and killed, the skill and bravery of Xenophon became conspicuous. He had to direct an army of ten thousand Greeks, who were now more than six hundred leagues from home, and in a country surrounded by an active enemy. He rose superior to all difficulties till the celebrated Retreat of the Ten Thousand was see page 292, School of the Vestal Virgins. effected; the Greeks returning home after a march of two hundred and fifteen days. Xenophon employed his pen in describing the expedition of Cyrus, in his work the Anabasis. He also wrote the Cyropaedia, Memorabilia, Hellenica, etc. He died at Corinth in his ninetieth year, about 360 years before the Christian era.