Proxenus of Thebes

Proxenus of Thebes (Greek Πρόξενος Próxenos ; * 431 BC probably in Thebes ; † 401 BC ) was a Greek military leader who after the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) the Persian prince Cyrus with his Supported efforts to oust his brother Artaxerxes II from the throne of the great king. He was a long-time friend of the writer, historian and Socrates student Xenophon .

He describes Proxenos, who presumably comes from a noble family in Thebes, as an ambitious adventurer who ultimately failed because of his honesty and morality. According to Xenophon, even as a young man, Proxenus sought to become a man capable of great deeds. He is said to have joined this desire because of the famous rhetorician Gorgias from Leontinoi and became his pupil for money. Nothing is known of Proxenos' own teaching. After he had finished studying with Gorgias, he considered himself - according to Xenophon - "able to give orders and, as a friend of the noble, not to stand back with benefits".

Proxenus lived in exile in Sardis and was still a young friend of the Persian Prince Cyrus , who, as the satrap of Lydia , gathered supporters to take action against his brother Artaxerxes II, whom he did not see as the legitimate heir to the throne can. Proxenus followed 401 BC. Chr. His request to give him arms help by bringing him a Greek mercenary band of 1500 hoplites and 500 lightly armed men and over them as a general (strategist) in the army of Cyrus exercised the command.

Xenophon, who had received a letter from the proxenus to join the company in Athens, first asked the oracle of Delphi which gods he should sacrifice so that this adventure would end well. He was then severely reprimanded by his teacher Socrates for not first asking whether he should go on the trip at all or not. He then accompanied the army of Cyrus, of which Proxenus was one of the most important leaders. According to Xenophons, Proxenus should have hoped to make a famous name for himself through the campaign, to acquire great influence and wealth, whereby he believed that he had to achieve all of this in an honest way, but not otherwise. An attitude with which Proxenus differed significantly from his colleague Menon von Pharsalus .

Xenophon judged the military leadership qualities of the proxenus ambiguously: “He was capable of being the leader of noble men. In no way, however, could he inspire the soldiers to respect or fear for himself, but rather shied away from his soldiers than his subordinates did from him. Obviously he feared being hated by his soldiers more than they feared refusing to obey him. He thought it was enough to be and be considered a good leader, to praise the able, not to praise the evildoer. Hence the righteous men among his people were devoted to him, but the wicked planned evil against him because he was easily deceived ”(Anabasis II.6, 19-20).

Proxenus' gullibility was ultimately fatal: after the failure of the overturn plan and the untimely death of Cyrus in the battle of Kunaxa on the Euphrates , Proxenus - like most of the other strategists of the Greek mercenary army - fell into a trap and was captured by the great king Artaxerxes . 401 BC He was killed by beheading in Susa at the age of 30. Xenophon gave an honorable speech to his friend in front of the army and was chosen to succeed Proxenus. He vividly described the adventures and sufferings of the Greek mercenaries on their way back to Greece in his book "Anabasis" ("The Train of Ten Thousands ").

literature

Otto Lendle : Commentary on Xenophons Anabasis (Books 1–7) . Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1995, ISBN 3-534-12813-3 , p. 138 f.
Otto Lendle: Two Gorgias students as στρατηγοί. Xenophon on Proxenos and Menon (Anabasis 2.6.16–29). In: Christian Mueller-Goldingen , Kurt Sier (Hrsg.): Lenaika. Festschrift for Carl Werner Müller , Stuttgart 1996, pp. 151–164

Remarks

↑ Xenophon, Anabasis 2,6,16 = Diels / Kranz, fragments of the pre-Socratics 82A5. See Michel Narcy: Proxénos de Thèbes. In: Richard Goulet (Ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques Vol. 5/2, Paris 2012, p. 1710.
↑ George B. Kerferd, Hellmut Flashar : Proxenos from Thebes . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy . The philosophy of antiquity , Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, p. 53.

personal data
SURNAME	Proxenus of Thebes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Greek military leader
DATE OF BIRTH	431 BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH	uncertain: Thebes
DATE OF DEATH	401 BC Chr.

[1] Xenophon, Anabasis 2,6,16 = Diels / Kranz, fragments of the pre-Socratics 82A5. See Michel Narcy: Proxénos de Thèbes. In: Richard Goulet (Ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques Vol. 5/2, Paris 2012, p. 1710.

[2] George B. Kerferd, Hellmut Flashar : Proxenos from Thebes . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy . The philosophy of antiquity , Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, p. 53.