Original title Ἱππαρχικός | Language Ancient Greek Country Athens | |
Original text Ἱππαρχικός at Greek Wikisource Translation Hipparchicus at Perseus Xenophon books Hiero, Agesilaus, Symposium, Apology, Oeconomicus | ||
Hipparchicus is the name usually given to Ἱππαρχικός, Hipparchikós, one of the two treatises on horsemanship by the Athenian historian and soldier Xenophon (circa 430–354 BC). Other common titles for this work include The cavalry commander and The cavalry general. The other work by Xenophon on horsemanship is Περὶ ἱππικῆς, Perì hippikēs, usually translated as On horsemanship, De equis alendis or The Art of Horsemanship. The title De re equestri may refer to either one of the two works. Hipparchicus deals mainly with the duties of the cavalry commander (hipparchus), while On horsemanship deals with the selection, care and training of horses in general.
Contents
History
The treatises of Xenophon were written in about 350 BC, and were considered the earliest extant works on horsemanship in any literature until the publication by Bedřich Hrozný in 1931 of a Hittite text, that by Kikkuli of the Mitanni Kingdom,:457 which dates from about 1360 BC. A treatise on horsemanship by Pliny the Elder is believed lost, as was that by Simon of Athens, which is twice mentioned by Xenophon in On horsemanship.:2 Some fragments of Simon's treatise survive, however; they were published by Franz Rühl in 1912.:4
Early editions
The first printed edition of Hipparchicus is that in the complete edition of Xenophon of 1516 from the Giunti press:
The earliest printing in Greek in England may be::607
Translations
Translations include: