Cyropaedia vs Poetics: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Greek language, Greek literature, Early works to 1800, Philosophy, Poetry, History
Cyropaedia
Xenophon of Athens (circa 430 – 354 B.C.) was a Greek poet, historian, soldier and philosopher who lived at a time of momentous events in Ancient Greek history. Although he was recognized as a great writer and poet in…
vs
Poetics
One of the first books written on what is now called aesthetics. Although parts are lost (e.g., comedy), it has been very influential in western thought, such as the part on tragedy.
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Poetics is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 5 for Cyropaedia.
- Poetics has the widest readership — 30776 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Cyropaedia | Poetics | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.0 (131) | 3.8 (30776) |
| Hardcover | 2.0 (1) | 3.9 (71) |
Reception
| Cyropaedia | Poetics | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 131 | 30776 |
| Editions | 122 | 252 |
| Citations | — | 76 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 4068 | 41609 |
| Reading it now | — | 2422 |
| Written reviews | 131 | 2257 |
| Wikipedia attention | 2902 | 7344 |
| Pages | 305 | 142 |