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Xenophon's pro-Spartan sympathies frequently show through in his writing (see Hellenika, for example), though he is not entirely uncritical. On this treatise on the Spartan constitution, Xenophon started with:

(see also the section below on Anabasis) This multi-genre text is Xenophon's longest work and focuses on Cyrus the Great (although much of it is fiction) but it was intended neither as a history nor a biography but rather as a treatise on the training of a ruler. Cyropaedia is

This is similarly problematic in terms of motive. Perhaps he felt that the march of 10,000 Greeks through the heart of the mighty Persian empire was too good a story not to tell, but there is almost certainly more to it than that. In Anabasis, the theme of Leaders and Followers is evident, as it was in Cyropaedia, and Xenophon's desire to make known his thoughts on what he personally saw as something very important may well have been an important (but not only) reason for writing both Anabasis and Cyropaedia.

Xenophon's pro-Spartan sympathies frequently show through in his writing (see Hellenika, for example), though he is not entirely uncritical. In this treatise on the Spartan constitution, Xenophon started with:

(see also the section below on Anabasis) This multi-genre text is Xenophon's longest work and focuses on Cyrus the Great (although much of it is fiction) but it was intended neither as a history nor a biography but rather as a thesis on the training of a ruler. Cyropaedia is

This is similarly problematic in terms of motive. Perhaps he felt that the march of 10,000 Greeks through the heart of the mighty Persian empire was too good a story not to tell, but there is almost certainly more to it than that. In Anabasis, the theme of Leaders and Followers is evident, as it was in Cyropaedia, and Xenophon's desire to make known his thoughts on what he personally saw as something very important may well have been an important (but not only) reason for writing both Anabasis and Cyropaedia.

OTHER WORKS

Hipparchicus, On Horsemanship and Hunting with Dogs

Hipparchicus, On Horsemanship and Hunting with Dogs can all be considered technical treatise. They are instructional, but that does not appear to be the only reason that Xenophon wrote them. Hipparchicus, for example, sees Xenophon once again dealing with leadership, while Hunting with Dogs

is a definite outlier in Xenophon’s corpus of smaller works and a difficult text. It is made up of three distinct parts: an elaborate, mythological preface; an extensive attack upon the sophists at the end; in between, a fairly straightforward practical section concerning hunting.

Source: John Dillery (Chapter 10), in The Cambridge Companion to Xenophon

Xenophon (about 431 BC to 354 BC) produced a very wide range of work during his lifetime: historical, biographical, philosophical, instructional. He never stated a primary purpose for all his works and we can deduce that some of what he was aimed at specific audiences.

For some of his works, he states a purpose (see below). For others we can sometimes deduce his intent with a certain degree of confidence, but other times we cannot be sure.

Xenophon (about 431 BC to 354 BC) produced a very wide range of work during his lifetime: historical, biographical, philosophical, instructional. He never stated a primary purpose for all his works and we can deduce that some of what he wrote was aimed at specific audiences.

For some of his works, he states a purpose (see below). For others we can sometimes deduce his intent with a certain degree of confidence, but with other texts we cannot be sure.

The historical works Anabasis and Hellenika are the most problematic for, as John Marincola states in The Cambridge Companion to Xenophon,

Among those where Xenophon gives at least part of his reason are:

In Agesilaus (King Agesilaos II of Sparta, ruled c. 398 – c. 360 BC), Xenophon begins with:

This laudatory account of Agesilaos is in contrast to some parts of Hellenika (see below) where Agesilaos is at times criticized.

In the Socratic dialogue Symposium, Xenophon, through a narrator, says:

In the Socratic dialogue Apology his intent was make explicit something about Socrates' defence which he felt other writers hadn't:

Among those works where Xenophon does not obviously explain his intent are:

Cyropaedia  (see also the section below on Anabasis) This multi-genre text is Xenophon's longest work and focuses on Cyrus the Great (although much of it is fiction) but it was intended neither as a history or a biography but rather as a treatise on the training of a ruler. Cyropaedia is

In Hellenika, a continuation of Thucydides' work on the Peloponnesian War and then beyond, Xenophon does not clearly state a reason. His style reveals that he had clearly read both Herodotus and Thucydides. He begins Hellenika with "And after those things, not many days later...". David Thomas, in his introduction to The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika, observes:

Anabasis is similarly problematic in terms of motive. perhaps he felt that the march of 10,000 Greeks through the heart of the mighty Persian empire was too good a story not to tell. In Anabasis, the theme of Leaders and Followers is evident, as it was in Cyropaedia, and Xenophon's desire to make known his thoughts on what he personally saw as something very important may well have been an important (but not only) reason for writing both Anabasis and Cyropaedia.

The historical works Anabasis and Hellenika, are the most problematic for, as John Marincola states in The Cambridge Companion to Xenophon,

WORKS WHERE XENOPHON STATES A REASON

Agesilaos

In Agesilaos, (King Agesilaos II of Sparta, ruled c. 398 – c. 360 BC), Xenophon begins with:

This laudatory account of Agesilaos is in contrast to some parts of Hellenika (see below) where Agesilaos is at times criticized.

Symposium

In the Socratic dialogue Symposium, Xenophon, through a narrator, says:

Apology and Memorabilia

The Socratic dialogues Apology and Memorabilia are both defences of Socrates but are aimed at different audiences. In Apology, his intent was to make explicit something about Socrates' defence which he felt other writers hadn't:

Thus, Apology is aimed at an audience which is already 'sympathetic' to Socrates. In contrast,

The audience Xenophon imagines for the Memorabilia , on the other hand, presumably includes readers still open to the attacks against Socrates; otherwise Xenophon would not spend so much time summarizing and refuting such arguments.

Constitution of the Lacedaimonians

Xenophon's pro-Spartan sympathies frequently show through in his writing (see Hellenika, for example), though he is not entirely uncritical. On this treatise on the Spartan constitution, Xenophon started with:

It occurred to me one day that Sparta, though among the most thinly populated of states, was evidently the most powerful and most celebrated city in Greece; and I fell to wondering how this could have happened. But when I considered the institutions of the Spartans, I wondered no longer.

Xenophon, like many Greek writers, was concerned with good government and leadership. In Constitution, he praises Spartan institutions and aims to show how Sparta became a great power, but he also criticizes Spartans for not following their laws in his own time. Thus, he seems to be pointing to Sparta's decline, even before the catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC

WORKS WHERE XENOPHON DOES NOT CLEARLY STATE A REASON

Cyropaedia 

(see also the section below on Anabasis) This multi-genre text is Xenophon's longest work and focuses on Cyrus the Great (although much of it is fiction) but it was intended neither as a history nor a biography but rather as a treatise on the training of a ruler. Cyropaedia is

Hellenika

Hellenika is a continuation of Thucydides' work on the Peloponnesian War and then beyond. His style reveals that he had clearly read both Herodotus and Thucydides. He begins Hellenika with "And after those things, not many days later...". David Thomas, in his introduction to The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika, observes:

Anabasis

This is similarly problematic in terms of motive. Perhaps he felt that the march of 10,000 Greeks through the heart of the mighty Persian empire was too good a story not to tell, but there is almost certainly more to it than that. In Anabasis, the theme of Leaders and Followers is evident, as it was in Cyropaedia, and Xenophon's desire to make known his thoughts on what he personally saw as something very important may well have been an important (but not only) reason for writing both Anabasis and Cyropaedia.