Training of a citizen and a ruler in the teachings of Xenophon

In the article the pedagogical doctrine of Xenophon of Athens which is centred on the questions of the education of the citizen and the political leader is characterized. His heritage is considered through a prism of the relationship of the person to his own education and self-education in a certain historical and cultural context. In the corpus of Xenophon's works the texts in which his ideas of an ideal educational system are most brightly reflected and his educational ideals and reference points are shaped are distinguished. The conclusion is made that one of the key ideas taken by Xenophon from Socrates was the idea about need of special education for the governor who should take care of the education of the citizens. The numerous sources reflecting peripetias of life and career of Xenophon, allow to say that he saw his mission in a formation of the bases of the education which would unite the Athenian, Spartan and Persian ideas about the formation of the citizen and the politician. Offering his readers the integrated into precepts simple and clear educational schemes and strategies, Xenophon isn't always consecutive and chronologically exact, but he is always convincing and original that does his compositions the unique historical and pedagogical sources.