Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium, 2010, nr XX/2

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Humor w "Cyropedii" Ksenofonta
(Wydawnictwo Poznańskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk, 2010) Marchewka, Anna
Filled with ubiquitous didacticism and typical of the Socratic philosophy moral principles, the Cyropaedia still does not lack humour. In his work, Xenophon used plenty types of humour, depending on the purpose, subject and also on the kind of the rhetorical devices. In the same time the author took care of the conformity of the rhetorical devices to the situation presented. The conversation between Tigranes and his wife (III 1, 41) is subtly wit while during the symposiums thrown by Cyrus we can notice some coarse and ironical jokes (e.g. II 2, 28 – 31; VIII 4, 18 – 23). The humour in the Cyropaedia is not only for the compositional reasons but it is also a perfect tool for Xenophon to individually characterize the main character – Cyrus the Elder.