The Hellenica Oxyphynchia and the Asiatic campaign of Agesilaus

Abstract

This thesis contains a discussion of the historical content of the London papyrus, POxy C42, the f1orentine papyrus,PSI \304 and the recently published fragment PCairo. (Ter.tp. irw. no. 2G/6/2//l-35),collectively known as the Hellenica Oxyrhynchiu (P). The focal point is the Asiatic campaign of Agesilaus and the battle of Sardis. Impressions gained from a personal investigation of the terrain are reviewed and an attempt is made to isolate the misconceptions that have hampered more constructive thinking on this episode of history. An endeavour is made to arrive at a personal reconstruction of the battle of Sardis and an assessment of P's credibility and value as an historian. The thesis concludes that there is no valid reason to doubt P's credibility and that discrepancies between the two main sources, Xenophon and P. can be ascribed to the difference in histographical approach. The autumn campaign of Agesilaus is discussed to illustrate more clearly how Xenophon's approach conditioned his writing of history