Xenophon

American  

[zen-uh-fuhn, -fon] / ˈzɛn ə fən, -ˌfɒn /

noun

1. 434?–355? b.c., Greek historian and essayist.

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Xenophon British  

/ ˈzɛnəfən /

noun

1. 431–?355 _bc , Greek general and historian; a disciple of Socrates. He accompanied Cyrus the Younger against Artaxerxes II and, after Cyrus' death at Cunaxa (401), he led his army of 10 000 Greek soldiers to the Black Sea, an expedition described in his Anabasis. His other works include Hellenica, a history of Greece, and the Memorabilia, Apology, and Symposium, which contain recollections of Socrates

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Other Word Forms

• Xenophontian
  adjective
• Xenophontine
  adjective

Example Sentences

Andrew Bayliss, the author of “Sparta: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Superpower,” is a defter writer than Xenophon.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

“This has been a needless point of division in the community for more than 18 months now,” Nick Xenophon, a former senator who used to represent the state of South Australia, said in a statement.

From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2018

Independent senator Nick Xenophon, whose parents are European migrants, told Sky News Australia he found the speech "heartbreaking".

From BBC • Sep. 15, 2016

Mr Xenophon ascribes his rising popularity to a “changing old order in politics”.

From Economist • Jun. 16, 2016

The didactic novel of Xenophon, the Cyropaedia, is a free invention adapted to the purposes of the author, based upon the account of Herodotus and occasionally influenced by Ctesias, without any independent traditional element.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various