The Best of the Achaemenids

Benevolence, Self-Interest and the ‘Ironic’ Reading of Cyropaedia

Bibliographic Data

ID23716015
AuthorsGabriel Danzig (0000-0001-6967-8846, corresponding author)
Year2012
Pages499-539
Publication date2012-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueXenophon (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/9789004234192_017
OpenAlexW2500632244
ISBN9789004234192
LanguageEN
Citations received13

Xenophon?s Cyropaedia tells the historical-fictional story of how Cyrus founded the Persian empire. Critics argue that although he maintains a pretence of benevolence, in reality Cyrus is always relentlessly pursuing his own interest. This, however, is a false dichotomy. For Xenophon, the pursuit of self-interest does not contradict either benevolence or beneficence. On the contrary, benevolence and beneficence contribute to obtaining self-interested ends and therefore the pursuit of self-interest requires them. This is because the most useful possessions are friends, and these are acquired by acts of benevolence. More difficult is the question of conflicts between self-interest and the interests of one?s friends and allies. But conflicts between true interests, as opposed to wishes and desires, need not arise often, since different individuals deserve and benefit from different things. This compatibility of interest is illustrated especially by Cyrus? gaining the upper hand over his uncle Cyaxares. Keywords:Achaemenids; Cyaxares; Cyropaedia ; Cyrus; Xenophon

Art · Linguistics · Literature · Reading (process) · Ancient Near East History · Philosophy · Psychology

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