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Cynegeticus


Cynegeticus (Greek: Κυνηγετικός, Kynegetikos "related to hunting" from κυνηγέω "I hunt"), is a treatise by the ancient Greek philosopher and military leader Xenophon, usually translated as "On Hunting" or "Hunting with Dogs."

It is one of the four works by Xenophon on arts or skills (each ends with -ikos/-icus). The other three are: Hipparchicus ("The Skilled Cavalry Commander") Peri Hippikes ("On Horsemanship"), Oeconomicus ("On Estate Management").

Xenophon begins discussing the importance of hunting and how the gods Apollo and Artemis bestowed game and hounds upon Chiron the gentle centaur who used hunting to teach twenty-one heroes. The heroes mentioned are: Cephalus, Asclepius, Meilanion, Nestor, Amphiaraus, Peleus, Telamon, Meleager, Theseus, Hippolytus, Palamedes, Odysseus, Menestheus, Diomedes, Castor, Polydeuces, Machaon, Podaleirius, Antilochus, Aeneas, and Achilles. Xenophon goes on to describe the excellence of each individual "hero," although many of his reasons are rather awkward upon other instances of them in literature. Hunting, Xenophon claims in the conclusion to the chapter, "are the means by which men become good in war and in all things out of which must come excellence in thought and word and deed" (I.18, E. C. Marchant translation).


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