![]() Nothing is known about Diogenes's early life except that his father, Hicesias, was a banker. Diogenes was also noted for having mocked Alexander the Great, both in public and to his face when he visited Corinth in 336 BC. He criticized Plato, disputed his interpretation of Socrates, and sabotaged his lectures, sometimes distracting listeners by bringing food and eating during the discussions. He became notorious for his philosophical stunts, such as carrying a lamp during the day, claiming to be looking for a "man" (often rendered in English as "looking for an honest man"). He modeled himself on the example of Heracles, believing that virtue was better revealed in action than in theory. He declared himself a cosmopolitan and a citizen of the world rather than claiming allegiance to just one place. He had a reputation for sleeping and eating wherever he chose in a highly non-traditional fashion and took to toughening himself against nature. He used his simple lifestyle and behavior to criticize the social values and institutions of what he saw as a corrupt, confused society. He begged for a living and often slept in a large ceramic jar, or pithos, in the marketplace. No writings of Diogenes survive, but there are some details of his life from anecdotes ( chreia), especially from Diogenes Laërtius' book Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers and some other sources. ![]() There he passed his philosophy of Cynicism to Crates, who taught it to Zeno of Citium, who fashioned it into the school of Stoicism, one of the most enduring schools of Greek philosophy. Diogenes was captured by pirates and sold into slavery, eventually settling in Corinth. There are many tales about him following Antisthenes and becoming his "faithful hound". After his hasty departure from Sinope he moved to Athens where he proceeded to criticize many conventions of Athens of that day. He was the son of the mintmaster of Sinope, and there is some debate as to whether or not he alone had debased the Sinopian currency, whether his father had done this, or whether they had both done it. He was banished, or fled from, Sinope over debasement of currency. He was born in Sinope, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia (now Türkiye) in 412 or 404 BC and died at Corinth in 323 BC. In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.Diogenes ( / d aɪ ˈ ɒ dʒ ɪ n iː z/ dy- OJ-in-eez Ancient Greek: Διογένης, romanized: Diogénēs ), also known as Diogenes the Cynic ( Διογένης ὁ Κυνικός, Diogénēs ho Kynikós) or Diogenes of Sinope, was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism. Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves, whistle and dance the shimmy, and you've got an audience. ![]() The art of being a slave is to rule one's master. Painting: Diogenes and Alexander by Gaspard de Crayer (c.1650). Diogenes turned to him and replied."Get out of my sunlight". On another account, an excited Alexander thrilled to have met Diogenes, turned to him and asked what favor he could do for him. "I am searching for the bones of your father, but cannot distinguish them from the bones of a slave". On his meeting with Alexander the Great, Diogenes is believed to have been rummaging through a pile of bones, and turned to Alexander and said. He used to stroll around town in broad daylight holding a lantern and saying." I am looking for an honest man".ĭiogenes by John William Waterhouse (1882). He adopted his principles by living out in the open (in a tub), wearing nothing more than a cloak and surviving on a diet consisting mostly of onions. He often ridiculed the wealthy and those who lived civilised lives. Both Antisthenes and Diogenes are called the founders of the school that's known as Cynicism.ĭiogenes' philosophy was based on a simple life free of luxuries and ambitions. Here he became a pupil of Antisthenes who was the head of the cynics, but it was not long before Diogenes surpassed his master in terms of reputation. Diogenes was included in the charge however escaped and went to Athens. His father Icesias, a banker, was imprisoned or exiled on the charge of adulterating the coinage. According to Diogenes Laertius, he died on the same day as Alexander the Great in 323BC, most probably in Corinth at about 90 years of age. Painting: Diogenes Asking for Alms by Jean-Bernard Restout (1767).ĭiogenes 'the cynic' of Sinope was a philosopher and as his name suggests, was born in Sinope, Pontus (current day Turkey) in 412 BC although some sources have his birth at 399BC.
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