Tracking the Ten Thousand: Using GIS to Conceptualize Spatial Narrative in Xenophon's Anabasis

This oral presentation introduces Tracking the Ten Thousand, an ongoing research project that aims at exploring the spatial narrative of Xenophon’s Anabasis using interactive, dynamic, and exploratory GIS mapping.

Xenophon’s Anabasis is a military travelogue that recounts the journey of the so-called Ten Thousand, a Greek mercenary army hired by the Persian prince Cyrus the Younger in 401 BCE. The narrative follows the march towards the Battle of Cunaxa, where Cyrus was killed, and the retreat through hostile lands from Babylon to Pergamus. Much discourse has surrounded the inconsistencies of Xenophon’s account, and many static maps have attempted to retrace his steps. While static representations are valuable, the array of geographic information systems (GIS) technologies allows for dynamic modeling at a finer granularity. This project discusses Tracking the Ten Thousand, an ongoing project exploring the spatial narrative of the Anabasis. With full awareness of limitations this study demonstrates how GIS can be used as an interpretive framework to deepen literary analysis and reveal new insights into authorial bias.