The Cyropaedia, sometimes referred to as ‘The Education of Cyrus the Great’ is one of the great works of 4th century BC Athenian writer and solider, Xenophon (c.431-355 BC). Although ostensibly a biography, Cyropaedia, is much harder to define than that. It has been called a history, a political romance, an encomium, a ‘mirrors for princes’ piece and, most simply, a narrative.

Whatever its style and genre, there can be no doubting the Cyropaedia’s titanic impact; both in the classical world, the middle ages, and today. The Cyropaedia was, and remains one of the most important works of literature to come out of Athens and, with historical ‘likes’ from the list of intellectual, military and political behemoths, is more than worthy of its place in classical canon.