#11 - Outside Reading 5 - Xenophon’s the Education of Cyrus

 Xenophon’s masterpiece, The Education of Cyrus, recounts the story of Cyrus the Great of Persia’s life. Since this story is more of a biography, it does not maintain all of the qualities of myth/fiction, but the impact of this story potentially rivals the effect of any major myth. Cyrus’s mastery of rhetoric and leadership and manipulation made him incredibly successful. His ability to convince his people to love him while also completing an absurd amount of conquests is something all leaders should look up to. He is not necessarily the greatest person to look up to, though he is described as excelling in virtue and loving people. His story held a lot of influence over the founders of America. His excellence in effective leadership is nearly as impressive as a mythic/fiction hero like Odysseus. 


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