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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">"historia est testis temporum, lux veritatis, vita memoriae, magistra vitae, nuntia vetustatis"</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">History is the witness of time, the light of truth, the life of memory, the teacher of life, the messenger of antiquity" (Cicero)</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">Dear fellow readers, </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">As I read Xenophon, I find that trying to 'get to know' him is not easy at first. He seems quite impersonable to me in the opening chapters. However, I am really enjoying the speeches at the end of Book I. Why is this? I find that as Xenophon 'finishes up' the Peloponnesian war in Book I vis-a-vis Thucydides, he starts to become easier to get to know, his style starts to come out, he starts to find his 'voice.' I am seeing more interesting digressions, anecdotes and stories coming out in Books 2 & 3 also. I am getting more and more impressed with his writing as I continue to read the Hellenika and I think the real Xenophon starts to be evident more in Book 2. By the way, I have read the Anabasis by Xenophon and it is excellent. His style is very good in that book too in both English and
Greek.</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">How does Hellenika read to you?</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">Here are some questions to help guide you on your reading (see below). We will use these questions to help guide our group discussion on our next conference call. The conference call is primarily our time to share our observations and thoughts of our experience reading this great book. We also ask some of our readers to participate in another way. I will ask a few of you in the coming weeks to 'take on a question,' that is, kickoff a question for discussion with your observations and comments to help jump start our group discussion of that question. It involves nothing more than what you would like to share in connection with that particular question. In the meantime, please feel free to email your thoughts and comments to the group when inspired to do so. </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">Happy reading and I hope you are enjoying the book!</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">Andre</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">Our reading schedule and study guide questions follow:</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"><u>Xenophon 2010 Hellenika - Conference Call Schedule</u></font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Call 1 - Monday January 11, 2010 (done)</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Call 2 - Monday February 22, 2010</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Call 3 - Monday March 22, 2010</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Call 4 - Monday May 10, 2010</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Call 5 - Monday June 7, 2010</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Call 6 - Monday July 12, 2010</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Xenophon Reading Group 2010</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Book I - II.3.10 Study Guide Questions</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">1. Alcibiades - You’ve got to either love him or hate him…or both. Xenophon tells of his role in the latter years of the Pelopponesian War throughout our reading assignment for this discussion. As in Thucydides, we see Alcibiades’ career ebb and flow. In our reading of Book I, how does Xenophon portray this ‘renegade’ Athenian? How responsible is Alcibiades for Athens’ fortunes at the end of the war? According to Xenophon, how much blame or praise should he get? [For readers of Thucydides, how does Alcibiades compare in both authors?]</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">2. Hellespont - A critical region as the Pelopponesian War draws to a close. According to Xenophon, how important is control of the Hellespont in terms of winning the war? Why? What are the most important bases/allies in the Eastern Mediterranean mentioned by Xenophon for the Spartans? Athenians?</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">3. Doreius - Xenophon’s overall style is pretty straightforward, so when he digresses, it is somewhat noticeable and sometimes abrupt. The Doreius digression is one which stood out to me. Why does Xenophon take the time to mention Doreius’ story in I.5.18-19? What is so important about Doreius’ example in terms of Xenophon’s narration of the end of this war?</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">4. Kallikratides - The arrival of this Spartan admiral seems to shake up the narrative a bit in Book I.6. At this point, I started getting flashbacks of Thucydides! How does Xenophon portray the Spartan Naval Command through the central figure of Kallikratides in I.6? For example, is there a unified approach in the Spartan Naval Command or is there unnecessary dissension?</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">5. Trial of the Generals - Xenophon gives us a very important account of a trial in Athens following the Athenian naval victory at Arginousai. As a matter of fact, the battle is scantily described in comparison to the trial that followed. Euryptolemos’ interesting speech (I.7) presents important elements related to the defense of the accused Athenian generals. What are these key elements and how do they represent the state of Athenian politics at this time? What might Xenophon be implying about Athenian democracy and its ability to wage a major war?</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">6. Lysander - Although he was mentioned in Book I, Book II opens with momentous events involving Lysander. How much of Lysander’s success is due to circumstance? his own cleverness? Spartan strategy as a whole? Which does Xenophon emphasize? What do you think?</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">7. Theramenes - In II.2.16-19, why would Theramenes allow the Athenians to languish and suffer in this most critical time? Why would the Athenians send him off again to Sparta to make peace?? Who is Theramenes and what else did he do for or against Athens that we know of?</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">8. News from Sicily - In Book II and elsewhere, what do the Sicilian updates (example in II.2.24) really have to do with the events narrated concerning Athens and Sparta? Do you consider them ‘interpolations’ or not? Why?</font></div>
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