365 - 285 B.C.), Diogenes is considered one of the founders of the school of Cynicism. (For a comprehensive list of some of Diogenes' wittiest sayings, go to the Diogenes the Dog website.)Īlong with Antisthenes (c. All we have is a number of anecdotes concerning his life and sayings attributed to him in a number of scattered classical sources, none of them definitive. No writings of Diogenes have survived even though he is reported to have authored several books. The Corinthians erected to his memory a pillar on which rested a dog of Parian marble. He left instructions to be thrown outside the city wall on his death, so wild animals could feast on his body. at Corinth, alleged variously to have held his breath, to have become ill from eating raw octopus, or to have suffered an infected dog bite. At one point, he supposedly met Alexander the Great in Corinth, and impressed the great leader with his ingenuity and wisdom, causing Alexander to remark, "If I were not Alexander, then I should wish to be Diogenes". He lived in Corinth for the rest of his life, which he devoted to preaching the doctrines of virtuous self-control. He was a self-appointed public scold whose mission was to demonstrate to the ancient Greeks that civilization is regressive.Īs the stories have it, Diogenes was captured by pirates and sold as a slave in Crete to a Corinthian named Xeniades, who was impressed with his wit and vision and employed him as tutor to his two sons. He showed his rejection of "normal" ideas about human decency by eating in the street, masturbating in the marketplace, urinating on those who insulted him, defecating in the theatre, and pointing at people with his middle finger. He is also credited with the first known use of the word "cosmopolitan", claiming to be a "cosmopolites" ("citizen of the world"). At one time, he poured scorn on Plato's characterization of man as a featherless biped, by bringing a plucked chicken into the lecture room. He lavishly praised the virtues of dogs (which eat anything, make no fuss about where to sleep, perform natural bodily functions in public without unease, and know instinctively who is friend and who is foe), all of which makes them superior to humans in his view. He used to stroll about in full daylight with a lamp, because he claimed to be looking for an honest man. For instance, he destroyed his only possession, a single wooden bowl, on seeing a peasant boy drink from the hollow of his hands. Most of what we know of his life has come to us in the form of anecdotes, especially from the "Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers" of the 3rd Century historian of the ancient Greek philosophers, Diogenes La�rtius. He avoided all earthly pleasures, and openly disdained what he saw as the folly, pretense, vanity, social climbing, self-deception and artificiality of much human conduct. Diogenes became Antisthenes' pupil, despite the brutality with which he was received, and rapidly surpassed his master both in reputation and in the austerity of his life. He was attracted by the Ascetic teaching of Antisthenes (c. He lived as a beggar in the streets of Athens, living semi-naked in a tub by the temple of Cybele, making a virtue of his extreme poverty. It is likely that he was exiled from Sinope for adulterating the coins his father minted with base metals, and made his way to Athens with a slave named Manes, who abandoned him shortly thereafter. (or 404 B.C., according to some sources) in Sinope (on the Black Sea coast of modern-day Turkey), the son of Tresius, a rich money-changer. Lifeĭiogenes (pronounced die-O-jen-ees) was born in about 412 B.C. But his sharp wit and stinging satire was very effective in highlighting the decadence, irrationality and double standards of Athens society. He taught contempt for all human achievements, social values and institutions. He lived as a beggar in the streets of Athens and made a virtue of extreme poverty. He was one of the founders (and the archetypical practitioner) of the ancient Greek philosophical school of Cynicism. 412 - 323 B.C.) was a Greek philosopher of the Socratic (or Classical) period. By Individual Philosopher > Diogenes of Sinopeĭiogenes of Sinope (aka Diogenes the Cynic) (c.
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