Xenophon's Clearchus

Xenophon's Clearchus Bruce Laforse Wright State University The portrait ofClearchus in theAnabasis has long intrigued historians . The brief character sketch-cum-obituary (2.6.1-15),1 which famously describes Clearchus as fond ofwar, has invited scholars to compare it with the depiction of the Spartan in the narrative. The results have been varied. Some see the obituary as essentially—though not exclusively —encomiastic.2 Others see a sharp divergence between the two portraits. According to Roisman (50), the Clearchus of the narrative, far from being obsessed with war, operates mostly by compromise and is a responsible leader. Most recendyTride has made the intriguing suggestion that Clearchus suffered fromwhat the modernworld recognizes as post traumatic stress syndrome. While each ofthese views has some merit, to compare the obituary with the narrative is not a simple task. The depiction in the narrative is complex, marked by the widiholding ofinformation and chronological slight ofhand. Clearchus was not a 1 All references are to the Anabasis unless otherwise noted. Translations are from the Loeb Classical Library edition of the Anabasis by C. L. Brownson. The Greek text is Marchant s OCT. 2 E.g., Brown 395. LAFORSE: XENOPHON'S CLEARCHUS75 simple man and Xenophon's literary skills convey that. But while diere are some negative aspects of Clearchus' character and behavior which Xenophon does nothesitate to show, thereareotherswhichhe downplays or even presents in a way useful and creditable to himself.3 In the Anabasis Xenophon skips over much of Clearchus' earlier and not wholly creditable career. It is from Diodorus Siculus that we learn the rather sordid details. Clearchus saw considerable service in the Hellespontine region during theIonianphaseofdie PeloponnesianWar.4 In 403 hewas sent as harmost to Byzantiumwhen that cityasked Sparta for assistance against the Thracians. Not long after arriving, Clearchus made himself tyrant of the city, executing many prominent citizens, seizing a considerable quantity ofproperty, and hiring his own mercenary army. Eventually the Spartans dispatched a force which drove him out ofByzantium and he fled to Ionia, where he joined Cyrus. Xenophon, by contrast, gives his account a panhellenic tint. According to him, Clearchus persuaded Sparta that die Thracians were injuring the Greeks in the Chersonese (?d????s? t??? "?????a?), and got himselfput in charge ofan expeditionaryforce to that region.When the ephors changed their minds and recalled him at the Isthmus, Clearchus refused to return and was condemned in absentia. An exile, he then took service with Cyrus, raised an army with Cyrus' money, and achieved his goal of conquering the Thracians of the Chersonese (2.6.2—5). There is no mention of Clearchus' tyranny at Byzantium, and die only motive Xenophon gives for Clearchus' actions, besides his being fond of war, is a desire to benefit the Greeks (by ousting the Thracians from the Chersonese). Without Diodorus' account as a correctivewewould know nothingofClearchus' movements from the time he left the Isdimus against Sparta's orders until he took service with Cyrus.5 It is possible that Xenophon regarded Clearchus' tyranny at 3 Roisman (51—52), argues thatXenophonshows Clearchus' faults in orderto highlight by contrast the strengths ofXenophon himselfas general. On thethemeoftrust and deceit in the Anabasis see Hirsch 14-38. 4 SeeD.S. 14.12.2-9, Hell. 1.1.35, 3.15-19, Thuc. 8.8.80, and Poralla, #425. 5 According to Xenophon's version; in Diodorus' account, Clearchus did not run afoul ofSpartan authorities until afterinstalling himselfat Byzantium (14.12.3—4). 76SYLLECTA CLASSICA 1 1 (2000) Byzantium as irrelevant to the story oftheAnabasis. But he also leaves it out ofthe HeUenica, a work certainly ofwider scope than theAnabasis. Xenophon's discretion here is intriguing. It may be due to personal (ifperhaps grudging) regard for a former commander and comrade in arms. The obituary of Clearchus, while skimming over the earlier activities around Byzantium, giveswhat appears to be an accurate and fair assessment ofthe Spartan's military skills (cf. 2.6.1-15). Xenophon respected many of Clearchus' abilities as a general, though he does not hold him up as a well-rounded model—his brand of discipline is too severe.6 Clearchuswas an effective leader in a crisis or amiddangers, but his personalitywas too...