Antisthenes tried to chase him away, beating him with his staff, and Diogenes replied that he was going nowhere, there being no staff hard enough to drive him away from Antisthenes’ wisdom. According to the story, Diogenes heard Antisthenes in the marketplace, and offered to become his disciple. While later cynics believed that Diogenes studied with Antisthenes, this is questionable. Diogenes became the most famous and emblematic cynic. Socrates did prefer the simple life, and despised wealth and excess. In Athens, Antisthenes (445 – 365 BCE), a student of Socrates, was the first to make Cynicism a distinct philosophy. Either way, sources tell us that Diogenes moved to Athens, where he became famous for his lifestyle and amusingly cynical interactions with others. If this is true, the story stuck to Diogenes as a metaphor after the fact. It is also true that there were, understandably, warring factions of pro-Greek separatists and pro-Persian loyalists fighting over authority of the city, and the coins may not have involved Diogenes but rather political infighting. Diogenes believed that people were corrupted by society, and should return to a simple life. While some believe that Diogenes and his father were involved in counterfeiting, it is likely that this is a metaphor for Diogenes’ rejection of traditional life, the “way of his father”, the common currency used in the marketplace. Large numbers of coins have been found in the region that have been defaced, some with Diogenes’ father’s name on them as the minter. One source says that Diogenes went to the Oracle at Delphi, and the pythias told him to deface the currency. “It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours.Legend has it that Diogenes’ father was a banker in charge of the mint, making coins for the government, but Diogenes “defaced the currency” and was banished. The philosophy struck a chord with certain elements of Roman society and Cynics flourished into the 4th Century A.D., unlike Stoicism, which had long since faded by that time. when bedraggled Cynics could be found on the streets of Rome in large numbers, preaching their creed of anti-materialism and a simple life. But there was renewed interest in the 1st Century A.D. With the rise of Stoicism in the 3rd Century B.C., the Cynic movement stalled. Life of Antisthenes by Diogenes Laërtius. The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave by Publius Syrus. Stoic Six Pack 5 – The Cynics presents the key primary sources of this ancient philosophy, as well as secondary material to provide insight and understanding:Īn Introduction to Cynic Philosophy by John MacCunn. Crates wed the like-minded Hipparchia of Maroneia and they became one of the few known philosopher couples in antiquity. The third key figure was Crates of Thebes (360 - 280 BC), a rich man who gave away his money to live a life of pious poverty. He was followed by Diogenes of Sinope, who famously lived in a tub on the streets of Athens. The founder of Cynicism was Antisthenes (445 – 365 BC), a former student of Socrates. The school extolled the virtue of perseverance, or karteria. They ate one (vegetarian) meal a day and made a habit of walking vast distances to stay in shape. The Cynics emphasized the value of self-sufficiency, or autarkeia. They rejected materialism and were free of belongings. "I would rather go mad than feel pleasure."įor Cynics the secret to happiness was living a life of virtue in harmony with Nature with only the bare essentials necessary for survival.
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