I noticed a few small things in the larger Isocrates piece.  At the start he mentioned a Spartan colony that was much better placed than the Athenian colony that Athens was warring with Macedonia over.  I just thought this was odd because by the context of it, it seemed like this was a recent settlement.  What struck me about that was that I'm pretty sure this was when Sparta was essentially at the peak of its demographic crisis.  It just doesn't seem like the best time to send some of your already few citizens to found another city. 

Also I thought it was strange that I don't remember seeing Corinth mentioned at all in that document.  I generally think of Corinth before I think of the Argives, but they are mentioned all over the place, while Corinth is as far as I can remember completely ignored. I just thought that was odd.

Athletic Competitions after the Colchian Victory

Something that struck me as a little odd were the games that the Greeks hosted after their victory against the Colchians. They are still in hostile territory and are by no means safely home yet they chose to host mini Olympic games. Religion seems to be an important factor to Xenophon and the army continuously sacrifices to the gods before and after battles to win their favor. Were these games done to gain the gods' favor or was this more of a "bread and circus" situation?

Ancient Liberty

I just reread Benjamin Constant's claim that the ancients had a very different view of liberty. So as I read through the first half of the Anabasis, I had that in the back of my mind. It was interesting to see it in action. (Especially considering Constant sights Xenophon as a source several times.) Two things stood out more than anything. When the generals consulted the army to decide what to do, but that that group decision still seemed binding on the members. There are also a few points where they are talking about themselves as free men. Through Constant's analysis this just means they have a right to participate in governance. They are not slaves because they have some small say in their fates, even if they as individuals have almost no rights.

Cyrus Conpliments the Greeks

One of the more curious episodes that caught my eye in the Anabasis was how Cyrus was so generous with his compliments towards the Greeks. I was under the impression that given the history between the Greeks abd the Persians that Cyrus would be semi-hostile toward them, viewing them only as a necessary evil in his quest to overthrow his brother. Yet in I.7, he claims that he values them above all of his barbarian forces because he believes that they are braver and more valuable to him than the others. Was this a normal occurance? That is, was it ordinary for a rival culture to pay such high compliments? Or was this metely Cyrus appealing to the Greeks because he needed their support?