Xenophon, the son of a wealthy Athenian family, was exiled because of his aid to the enemies of the Athenians. He stated that he wanted a thrilling adventure; as a result, he decided to join Cyrus' expedition against his brother Artaxerxes, the Persian king along with Greek mercenaries. Although Anabasis is more about documenting the struggle and hardships of the Greeks during their retreat into hostile territory, Xenophon writes Anabasis as his ethnographic interest. Ethnography is a study of human cultures. It aims to describe the origin, behavior and physical, social and cultural development of human beings. Xenophon recorded the Greeks and local customs of friendly and hostile forces such as dance, food, religious rites, songs, military tactics, and leadership. Through Xenophon's narrative, he offers valuable insight into ancient human culture. The main theme of Anabasis concerns the journey of the Greek mercenaries who face the "barbarian" world. Xenophon documented the leadership and military tactics of the Greek mercenaries during their retreat back home. According to Xenophon, leadership was the important element of success and unification in ancient Greek culture. Xenophon admires Cyrus' courage and his leadership towards the Greek mercenaries, "most of the troops set sail and undertook this mercenary service not because they were in difficulty, but because they had heard of Cyrus' magnanimity" (Xenophon 144) . Not only did Xenophon think Cyrus was a good leader, but so did the Greeks. Xenophon defined Cyrus, a great leader, respectful, obedient to his elders, skilled in horse handling and skilled in the military art of archery and javelin, worthy of trust and... middle of paper... according to the custom of the Greeks. Furthermore, in the sixth book the Greeks were invited by the Paphlagonians to a banquet. There, Xenophon depicted the dancing and singing of many different cultures. It is an unusual scene in Anabasis to see all the barbarians zealously sharing their culture. In conclusion, Xenophon not only studied the military tactics and leadership of the Greeks, but also closely observed other human cultures as they marched on their journey. Xenophon is interested in the qualities of a good commander and realizes that having a good leader is the main component for the Greeks to overcome all difficulties. The religious ritual also influenced the Greeks during the march. Their generals made sacrifices and decisions depended on good luck. Other local customs might seem aberrant to those of the Greeks, but Xenophon found them intriguing.