John
HYLAND Xenophon's "Noble Barbarian":
Pharnabazos in the Hellenika
The Persian
satrap Pharnabazos is one of the most memorable
characters of Xenophon's Hellenika, in which he is mentioned more often than
any individual except Agesilaos. Like his satrapal
colleague and rival Tissaphernes in the history of
Thucydides, Xenophon's Pharnabazos stands out as a
Persian of great importance in a Greek historical work
that has relatively little concern with Persia (Giraud
1999, 120-21).
What has struck modern scholars most about Pharnabazos is
the sympathetic treatment given him by Xenophon,
particularly in comparison with the arch-villain
Tissaphernes. Most modern commentators have taken this
apparently favorable portrayal of Pharnabazos, above all
in his famous meeting with Agesilaos (HG 4.1.27-33), at face value. Pharnabazos has
been cited often as primary evidence for Xenophon's
admiration of traditional Persian aristocratic values,
despite his criticisms of the Achaemenid empire in his
own day (Hirsch 1985, 22; Gray 1989, 54-58). Xenophon,
though, was well aware of the flaws of his most heroic
characters, as scholars have recognized in his treatment
of Agesilaos (Tuplin 1993, 58; Dillery 1995, 114-19).
I intend to
discuss several instances in which Xenophon paints a
negative picture of Pharnabazos, giving him many of the
faults that the historian attributes to other Persian
contemporaries. In his mistreatment of subordinates, his
hunger for power, and his scheming against the Ten
Thousand, Pharnabazos shows a distinct similarity to
characters like Tissaphernes. Xenophon stops short of
outright condemnation, though, and does not mention the
worst transgression attributed to Pharnabazos by
fourth-century writers, the assassination of Alkibiades
(although he may hint at it in his discussion of an
oath-exchange at HG 1.3.10-12).
Despite
Pharnabazos' misdeeds, he does live up to positive
Xenophontic standards on key occasions in the
Hellenika. He does not allow a serious defeat to
discourage him as it does his Spartan allies, and makes
arrangements to rebuild the Spartan fleet when its own
admirals have no idea how to improve the situation
(1.1.23-26). He keeps an oath to Athenian envoys despite
pressure from Cyrus the Younger to do otherwise
(1.4.5-7). Above all, in the conference with Agesilaos
during the later Spartan war with Persia, he deliberately
puts aside Persian luxury (4.1.30) and shames the
Spartans to silence by denouncing their ingratitude
(4.1.31-33). He refuses to desert his royal master, not
out of slavish fear of the King, but because of his own
philotimia, which will drive him to make war on the
Spartans to the best of his ability if he is honored with
high command (4.1.37).
I will argue
that this high moment for Pharnabazos is not the simple
result of Xenophon's admiration for the Persian noble.
Xenophon downplays his flaws in this episode in order to
highlight the faults of the Spartans, a central theme of
his historical project. Pharnabazos is a foil, his
interaction with the Spartan king allowing Xenophon to
illuminate the reasons for Agesilaos' failure in Asia
Minor. Ultimately, Pharnabazos is most important for
Xenophon as a tool for exploring the behavior of Greek
historical characters, not the state of the
fourth-century Achaemenid empire.