401 BC and exhausted by thirty years of war between Athens and Sparta, Greece is on its knees. At the point of the most profound crisis in the values that made the great Greek civilisation, the general Clearchus enlists an army of Greek mercenaries. The exact mission of this army, which will be remembered by history as the army of the ten thousand, is not clear. What is known is that it will delve deeper into mysterious and hostile territories, to the very heart of the Persian empire. It is also known to be financed by Prince Cyrus, brother of the Great King Artaxerxes. The official motivation, to vanquish rebellious tribes, convinces no one.
As usual, many women also join the expedition and Valerio Massimo Manfredi recounts the great epic tale of Anabasis by Xenophon – the story of the homeward march of the incredible army from what is today Iraq through Armenia to the Black Sea – through the eyes of a woman. Her name is Abira – a girl who leaves the dusty village of Beth Qadà to follow the warrior on horseback Xenophon who had appeared to her as a young god, with a promise of love, adventure and different life – and she tells of the heroic exploits of men, a succession of titanic battles, of ambushes, of forced marches across hot deserts and over frozen mountains, through fast-moving streams and snow-covered tundra: through her innocent eyes, hungry for knowledge like those of any woman in love, everything is seen in a different light.
The rampages, the plots, the blind fury of men appear in these pages filtered by a dedicated sweetness and the infinite capacity for self-sacrifice of women. As a result, the cold clarity of Xenophon, the inhuman ferocity of Meno of Thessaly, the bitter realism of Sophos are mixed with the loving dedication of Abira, the refined seductions of Melissa and the silent endurance of Lystra.
It seems that humans are designed to overcome any trial or adversity, but it is not really so. There is a limit that cannot, must not be exceeded.
In battle as with feelings. The final twist that unravels this great adventure shows us what this limit is and what pride resides in the hearts ten thousand indomitable warriors or a single woman in love.