Cyrus' Paradise: The World's First Online Collaborative Commentary to an Ancient Text

Cyrus’ Paradise is the world’s first comprehensive, online, collaborative commentary for a Classical text: Xenophon’s Education of Cyrus (Cyropaedia). Cyrus’ Paradise incorporates contributions from all generations and communities, from high school and college students to advanced professors to amateur enthusiasts. Contributions take the form of multimedia (pictures, audio, video), grammatical and syntactical instruction, and discussion in the form of questions, comments, and blog posts. Because it is always growing, the collaborative commentary is designed to produce new readings of the text with every new participant. It may be used as a tool for scholarly research at any stage, from a prospectus to a polished article. It may also be used as an intermediate or upper-level Greek text. Sample syllabuses are provided here. Our approach has been to provide students with every conceivable resource for understanding and interpreting the text (e.g., grammatical/syntactical aid, parsing, tree-banking, vocabulary, video instruction, audio recordings), while at the same time developing every conceivable way to assess student mastery.

Book 1
Chapter 1.1: The Problem of Ruling Humans and the Solution of Cyrus
Chapter 1.2: The Persian Moral and Martial Education
Chapter 1.3: Cyrus Has His Persian Education Tested among the Medes
Chapter 1.4: Friendship with Medan youths, Hunting, and Distinguished Warfare
Chapter 1.5: Cyrus Prepares to Join the Medan Campaign against the Assyrians
Chapter 1.6: Cyrus Recalls the Lessons of Cambyses and Seeks Further Knowledge
Book 2
Chapter 2.1: Cyrus Implements Cambyses’ Principles of Generalship in the Persian Army
Chapter 2.2: Cyrus Conducts Dinner Parties with a Blend of Seriousness and Charm
Chapter 2.3: Cyrus Convinces the Army to Accept Rewards from Battle According to Merit
Chapter 2.4: Cyrus Hatches a Plan to Recover Tribute from the Armenians
Book 3
Chapter 3.1: Cyrus makes the Armenian king and his son Tigranes into better friends
Chapter 3.2: Cyrus Forges an Alliance between the Armenians and Chaldaeans
Chapter 3.3: Cyrus and the Army Engage in Their First Battle with the Assyrians
Book 4
Chapter 4.1: Cyrus praises his army for its victory and makes plans for pursuing the Assyrians.
Chapter 4.2: Cyrus finds allies in the rebelling Hyrcanians who guide him in his successful attack on the Assyrians.
Chapter 4.3: Cyrus proposes that the Persians develop a cavalry and they agree.
Chapter 4.4: Cyrus makes terms with the captive inhabitants.
Chapter 4.5: Cyrus receives an angry summons from Cyaxares and invites his allies to divide up the spoils as they see fit.
Chapter 4.6: The Assyrian Gobryas surrenders to Cyrus and asks for aid in avenging his son.
Book 5
Chapter 5.1: Cyrus debates the powers of love with Araspas and assesses his allies’ willingness to continue with the pursuit of the Assyrians.
Chapter 5.2: Cyrus visits Gobryas and hatches his plan with him to march to Babylon to ally themselves with the eunuch who had been wronged by the Assyrian king.
Chapter 5.3: Cyrus allies himself with the Assyrian eunuch, Gadatas, they take an important fortress in Babylon, and they then set out to help Gadatas defend his lands against the Assyrian king.
Chapter 5.4: Cyrus rescues Gadatas from a treacherous plot, avenges the reckless Cadusians, and prepares to make war on Babylon.
Chapter 5.5: Cyrus’ vast alliance shames Cyaxares, but he wins him over by demonstrating his good will.
Book 6
Chapter 6.1: Cyrus convinces the armies not to disband; he prepares to occupy some Assyrian garrisons for the winter, sends Araspas on a spy-mission, and reunites Pantheia with Abradatas.
Chapter 6.2: When Cyrus and the army learn of the magnitude of the Assyrian campaign, Cyrus raises everyone’s spirits by reminding them of their preparation and past successes and then gives them specific instructions.
Chapter 6.3: Cyrus gathers information from the enemy, through prisoners and Araspas, and then instructs the men to take their positions for battle.
Chapter 6.4: Pantheia and Abradatas have an illustrious and tearful parting, then Cyrus exhorts everyone to battle.
Book 7
Chapter 7.1: Cyrus does battle with Croesus and makes allies of the Egyptians; Abradatas dies valiantly.
Chapter 7.2: Cyrus takes Sardis and Croesus comes to enjoy the good life.
Chapter 7.3: Pantheia commits suicide at the burial of Abradatas.
Chapter 7.4: Cyrus acquires a few more allies and heads to Babylon.
Chapter 7.5: Cyrus takes Babylon by rerouting the Euphrates and entering by night while the Babylonians are in celebration; he transitions from a general into a king by worrying about how to maintain his vast empire.
Book 8
Chapter 8.1: Cyrus trains his people by example.
Chapter 8.2: The many facets of Cyrus’ philanthropia.
Chapter 8.3: Cyrus processes in state and matches Pheraulas with a Sacian, to the delight of both, one helping his friends, the other managing the wealth.
Chapter 8.4: At a banquet Cyrus plays the wit and matchmaker and then explains his views on sharing wealth with friends.
Chapter 8.5: Cyrus visits Media and Persia, where he marries Cyaxares’ daughter and makes a covenant with the Persians.
Chapter 8.6: Cyrus institutes satrapies that will administer his empire and profits thereby.
Chapter 8.7: Cyrus senses that death is near; summoning his friends and sons, he advises the sons to be faithful to one another and he gives instructions on his burial.
Chapter 8.8: The many forms of Persian decline after Cyrus.
The Future of Reading Ancient Literature
Further Reading
Acknowledgements
Resources

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