He was attracted by the ascetic teaching of Antisthenes, a student of Socrates. He found the figure of a master who could do nothing for himself contemptibly helpless. With characteristic humor, Diogenes dismissed his ill fortune by saying, "If Manes can live without Diogenes, why not Diogenes without Manes?" Diogenes would mock such a relation of extreme dependency. Diogenes Sitting in His Tub by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1860)ĭiogenes arrived in Athens with a slave named Manes who escaped from him shortly thereafter. This distinction between nature "physis" and custom "nomos" is a favourite theme of ancient Greek philosophy, and one that Plato takes up in The Republic, in the legend of the Ring of Gyges. He argued that instead of being troubled about the true nature of evil, people merely rely on customary interpretations. He traveled to Athens and made it his life's goal to challenge established customs and values. Following the debacle in Sinope, Diogenes decided that the oracle meant that he should deface the political currency rather than actual coins. In AthensĪccording to one story, Diogenes went to the Oracle at Delphi to ask for her advice and was told that he should "deface the currency". Sinope was being disputed between pro-Persian and pro-Greek factions in the 4th century, and there may have been political rather than financial motives behind the act. The coins were deliberately defaced in order to render them worthless as legal tender. During this time there was much counterfeit money circulating in Sinope. This aspect of the story seems to be corroborated by archaeology: large numbers of defaced coins smashed with a large chisel stamp have been discovered at Sinope dating from the middle of the 4th century BC, and other coins of the time bear the name of Hicesias as the official who minted them. Diogenes Searching for an Honest Man (1640–1647)Īt some point the exact date is unknown, Hicesias and Diogenes became involved in a scandal involving the adulteration or debasement of the currency, and Diogenes was exiled from the city and lost his citizenship and all his material possessions. It seems likely that Diogenes was also enrolled into the banking business aiding his father. Nothing is known about Diogenes' early life except that his father, Hicesias, was a banker. 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 also noted for having mocked Alexander the Great, both in public and to his face when he visited Corinth in 336 BC.ĭiogenes was captured by pirates and sold into slavery, eventually settling in Corinth.
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 an honest man. He begged for a living and often slept in a large ceramic jar, or pithos, in the marketplace. There are many tales about his dogging Antisthenes' footsteps and becoming his "faithful hound".ĭiogenes made a virtue of poverty. 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 behaviour to criticize the social values and institutions of what he saw as a corrupt, confused society. He modelled himself on the example of Heracles, and believed that virtue was better revealed in action than in theory. After being exiled, he moved to Athens and criticized many cultural conventions of the city. His father minted coins for a living, and Diogenes was banished from Sinope when he took to debasement of currency. He was born in Sinope, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea coast of modern day Turkey.ĭiogenes was a controversial figure. I know nothing, except the fact of my ignorance.ĭiogenes was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynic philosophy.
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