Xenophon's writings, especially the
Anabasis, are often read by beginning students of the Greek language. His
Hellenica is a major primary source for events in Greece from 411 to 362 BC, and is considered to be the continuation of the
History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, going so far as to begin with the phrase "Following these events...". The Hellenica recounts the last seven years of the Peloponnesian war, as well as its aftermath. His Socratic writings, preserved complete, along with the dialogues of Plato, are the only surviving representatives of the genre of Sokratikoi logoi.
Historical and biographical works
- Anabasis (also: The Persian Expedition or The March Up Country)
- Cyropaedia (also: The Education of Cyrus)
- Hellenica
- Agesilaus
Socratic works and dialogues
- Memorabilia
- Oeconomicus
- Symposium
- Apology
- Hiero
Short treatises
- On Horsemanship
- The Cavalry General
- Hunting with Dogs
- Ways and Means
- Constitution of Sparta
In addition, a short treatise on the Constitution of Athens exists that was once thought to be by Xenophon, but which was probably written when Xenophon was about five years old. This is found in manuscripts among the short works of Xenophon, as though he had written it also. The author, often called in English the "Old Oligarch", detests the democracy of Athens and the poorer classes, but he argues that the Periclean institutions are well designed for their deplorable purposes. Leo Strauss has argued that this work is in fact by Xenophon, whose ironic posing he believes has been utterly missed by contemporary scholarship.