When asked why he would do such a thing he replied: “To get practice in being refused.” On another occasion, he was seen begging for alms from a statue. He is known to have carried a lantern through the streets of Athens in broad daylight claiming to be looking for an honest man. Diogenes Sitting in His Tub by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1860) Diogenes the Pranksterĭiogenes often demonstrated his philosophy by means of theatrical stunts and pranks. He toughened himself against bad weather and adversity and courted trouble. He positioned it in public spaces where he could observe and speak to passers-by. When he found a large ceramic tub in the Temple of Cybele, he decided it would do for his home. He dispensed with the cup when he noticed a small boy drinking from his hands. Until he later required a staff to walk long distances, Diogenes carried with him only a cup and little food within a “wallet”. He committed to a life of poverty – at night, he found shelter wherever he could, then folded his cloak in two and slept within it. However, Diogenes was persistent, and Antisthenes relented after Diogenes approached him with a stick and said: “Strike, for you will not find any stick hard enough to drive me away as long as you continue to speak.”ĭiogenes took inspiration from a mouse that he had watched running about neither seeking out comforts nor a place to hide in the dark. Antisthenes wanted none of it – he did not take on students. Diogenes the Philosopherįollowing a pilgrimage to the Oracle at Delphi, Diogenes moved to Athens where he was attracted to the teachings of Antisthenes and sought to become his student. Some reports have it that his father died in prison. However, none of his written works survive. Diocles reported that Hicesius had fled Sinope after being caught debasing its coinage, but Eubulides wrote that Diogenes was alone responsible for the crime and that both men were forced to flee the city together.ĭiogenes Laertes, Diogenes the Cynic’s biographer, reported that Diogenes admitted to “adulterating the coinage” in his book, Pordalus. In his youth, Diogenes was a template for men he came to detest. That distinction correctly belongs to Antisthenes, but Diogenes had a louder voice and greater influence. Even so, it seems his contemporaries believed he was eighty-nine at the time of his death in 323 BC.ĭiogenes is often incorrectly regarded as the founder of the Cynical School of Philosophy. It has been variously reported that he was born in either 412 or 404 BC. Diogenes remains a controversial philosopher to this day and is remembered for behaviours and quotations that have shocked and inspired people for millennia. Diogenes the Cynic, a native of Sinope, was the son of Hicesius, a public banker responsible for minting coins.
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