Xenophon's Hiero

Abstract

This study will be a close textual analysis of Xenophon’s Hiero, contextualized and informed by the author’s other writings and the relevant secondary philological and historical scholarship. In addition to critiquing the dominant understanding of the Hiero in modern secondary scholarship, it will explore the structure and dramatic context of the dialogue, considering how these support or attenuate its major themes. It will consider and compare these major themes with those of Xenophon’s other works, ultimately showing that the Hiero makes a unique intellectual contribution to Xenophon’s theory of human leadership and his understanding of the impact leadership quality has on the happiness of the leader.