Die Lebhaftigkeit von Xenophons Darstellung der Schlacht von Kunaxa aus kognitionswissenschaftlicher Sicht

Xenophon’s account of the Battle of Cunaxa has been much praised by ancient and modern critics for its vividness (enargeia). Plutarch states that he brings the events right before our eyes, making us participate in the dangers. However, critics have been reticent about how this effect is created. This paper tries to explain the vividness with recent enactivist theories of cognition: the selective focus on certain aspects of scenes is in alignment with the way humans perceive objects in the real world. Less vivid passages do exist but are still narrated in a dynamic fashion. However, greater prominence is given to enactive passages, thus creating a high degree of vividness.