ABSTRACT
Despite the ease, clarity and sometimes superficiality of his prose, Xenophon can be a subtle, even devious manipulator of his narrative. Consequently, there is an ever-present danger to over-interpret him, finding especially in his silences ironic commentary on matters he does present: but it is difficult to see how omissions can be ironic. Directly following the report of Teleutias’ raid on the Piraeus, it was heard hear that Antalcidas had returned to the coast of Asia Minor, together with the satrap Tiribazus, bringing with him the terms of the King’s Peace. In the lead-up to the King’s Peace, Xenophon details Antalcidas’ activities in the Hellespont region; it was told that he is able eventually to accumulate a fleet of more than eighty ships and to prevent the Athenians from entering the Black Sea, crucial for their grain supply. Agesilaus’ settlement of Phlius, stark and brutal, is also Sparta’s settlement, despite voices of opposition.
