Will, Wolfgang Der Zug der 10000. Die unglaubliche Geschichte eines antiken Söldnerheeres

Ten thousand Greek mercenaries are lured into western Asia Minor by the Persian prince Cyrus on a pretext. As the advance begins, it becomes clear that the real aim of the enterprise is to overthrow the prince's brother, Great King Artaxerxes, and bring Cyrus to the throne. Everything goes according to plan until Kyros falls at Kunaxa (401 BC). Now it is up to the Greek army to get out of enemy territory and to safety.

Xenophon, to whom we owe a detailed account of events, was a kind of war correspondent. But when the leaders of the Greeks fall, he has to take responsibility. He provides information beyond the military events about unknown peoples, ancient ruined sites, exotic landscapes, strange flora and fauna, but also about unusual eating and drinking habits. He reports on sexual preferences, unusual compositions of armies, women, children, hetaerae, merchants, doctors, servants and prisoners. He relentlessly exposes the atrocities of war, which repeatedly confront him, the student of Socrates, with the question of appropriate moral behaviour. Wolfgang Will has congenially transformed his "Anabasis" - the most widely read book in antiquity - into an exciting, modern work of history.