Diogenes of Sinope

1 Life

Diogenes of Sinope (/dadniz/; Greek: , Diogens ho Sinpeus) was a Greek

philosopher and one of the founders of Cynic philosophy. Also known as Diogenes the Cynic (Ancient Greek:
, Diogens ho Kunikos), he was born
in Sinope (modern-day Sinop, Turkey), an Ionian colony
on the Black Sea,[1] in 412 or 404 BC and died at Corinth
in 323 BC.[2]

Diogenes was born in the Greek colony of Sinope on

the south coast of the Black Sea, in either 412 BC or
404 BC.[2] Nothing is known about his early life except
that his father Hicesias was a banker.[6] It seems likely
that Diogenes was also enrolled into the banking business
aiding his father. At some point (the exact date is unknown), Hicesias and Diogenes became embroiled in a
scandal involving the adulteration or debasement of the
currency,[7] and Diogenes was exiled from the city, lost
his citizenship, and all his material possessions.[8][9] 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 ocial who
minted them.[10] During this time there was a lot of counterfeit money circulating in Sinope.[8] The coins were deliberately defaced in order to render them worthless as
legal tender.;[8] Sinope was being disputed between proPersian and pro-Greek factions in the 4th century, and
there may have been political rather than nancial motives behind the act.

Diogenes of Sinope was a controversial gure. His father minted coins for a living, and when Diogenes took to
debasement of currency, he was banished from Sinope.[1]
After being exiled, he moved to Athens and criticized
many cultural conventions of the city. Diogenes modelled
himself on the example of Heracles. He believed that
virtue was better revealed in action than in theory. He
used his simple lifestyle and behaviour (which arguably
resembled poverty) to criticize the social values and institutions of what he saw as a corrupt or at least confused
society. In a highly non-traditional fashion, he had a reputation of sleeping and eating wherever he chose and took
to toughening himself against nature. He declared himself a cosmopolitan and a citizen of the world rather than
claiming allegiance to just one place. There are many
tales about him dogging Antisthenes' footsteps and becoming his faithful hound.[3] Diogenes made a virtue of
poverty. He begged for a living and often slept in a large
ceramic jar[4] in the marketplace. He became notorious 1.1
for his philosophical stunts such as carrying a lamp in the
daytime, claiming to be looking for an honest man. He
criticized and embarrassed Plato, disputed his interpretation of Socrates and sabotaged his lectures, sometimes
distracting attendees by bringing food and eating during
the discussions. Diogenes was also responsible for publicly mocking Alexander the Great.

In Athens

After being captured by pirates and sold into slavery, Diogenes eventually settled in Corinth. 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.
None of Diogenes many writings has survived, but details of his life come in the form of anecdotes (chreia),
especially from Diogenes Lartius, in his book Lives and
Diogenes sitting in his tub. Painting by Jean-Lon Grme (1860)
Opinions of Eminent Philosophers. All that is available
is a number of anecdotes concerning his life and say[9]
ings attributed to him in a number of scattered classical According to one story, Diogenes went to the Oracle at
Delphi to ask for its advice and was told that he should
sources.[5]
deface the currency. Following the debacle in Sinope,
Diogenes decided that the oracle meant that he should deface the political currency rather than actual coins. He
traveled to Athens and made it his lifes goal to challenge
1

2
established customs and values. He argued that instead
of being troubled about the true nature of evil, people
merely rely on customary interpretations. This distinction between nature ("physis") and custom ("nomos") is a
favorite theme of ancient Greek philosophy, and one that
Plato takes up in The Republic, in the legend of the Ring
of Gyges.[11]
Diogenes arrived in Athens with a slave named Manes
who abandoned him shortly thereafter. With characteristic humor, Diogenes dismissed his ill fortune by saying, If Manes can live without Diogenes, why not Diogenes without Manes?"[12] Diogenes would mock such
a relation of extreme dependency. He found the gure of a master who could do nothing for himself contemptibly helpless. He was attracted by the ascetic teaching of Antisthenes, a student of Socrates. When Diogenes asked Antisthenes to mentor him, Antisthenes ignored him and reportedly eventually beat him o with
his sta.[1] Diogenes responds, Strike, for you will nd
no wood hard enough to keep me away from you, so long
as I think you've something to say.[1] Diogenes became
Antisthenes pupil, despite the brutality with which he
was initially received.[13] Whether the two ever really met
is still uncertain,[14][15][16] but he surpassed his master in
both reputation and the austerity of his life. He considered his avoidance of earthly pleasures a contrast to and
commentary on contemporary Athenian behaviors. This
attitude was grounded in a disdain for what he regarded as
the folly, pretense, vanity, self-deception, and articiality
of human conduct.

LIFE

ketplace that he felt hungry. He used to stroll about in full

daylight with a lamp; when asked what he was doing, he
would answer, I am just looking for an honest man.[21]
Diogenes looked for a human being but reputedly found
nothing but rascals and scoundrels.[22]
When Plato gave Socrates denition of man as featherless bipeds and was much praised for the denition,
Diogenes plucked a chicken and brought it into Platos
Academy, saying, Behold! I've brought you a man.
After this incident, with broad at nails" was added to
Platos denition.[23]

1.2 In Corinth
According to a story which seems to have originated
with Menippus of Gadara,[24] Diogenes was captured by
pirates while on voyage to Aegina and sold as a slave in
Crete to a Corinthian named Xeniades. Being asked his
trade, he replied that he knew no trade but that of governing men, and that he wished to be sold to a man who
needed a master. In fact, this was a pun. In ancient Greek
this would sound both as Governing men and Teaching
values to people.[25] Xeniades liked his spirit and hired
Diogenes to tutor his children. As tutor to Xeniades two
sons,[26] it is said that he lived in Corinth for the rest of
his life, which he devoted to preaching the doctrines of
virtuous self-control. There are many stories about what
actually happened to him after his time with Xeniades
two sons. There are stories stating he was set free after
he became a cherished member of the household, while
one says he was set free almost immediately, and still another states that he grew old and died at Xeniades house
in Corinth.[27] He is even said to have lectured to large
audiences at the Isthmian Games.[28]
Although most of the stories about him living in a jar[4]
are located in Athens, there are some accounts of him
living in a jar near the Craneum gymnasium in Corinth:

Diogenes searches for an honest man. Painting attributed to J.

H. W. Tischbein (c. 1780)

The stories told of Diogenes illustrate the logical consistency of his character. He inured himself to the weather
by living in a clay wine jar[4][17] belonging to the temple
of Cybele.[18] He destroyed the single wooden bowl he
possessed on seeing a peasant boy drink from the hollow
of his hands. He then exclaimed Fool that I am, to have
been carrying superuous baggage all this time!"[19][20] It
was contrary to Athenian customs to eat within the marketplace, and still he would eat there, for, as he explained
when rebuked, it was during the time he was in the mar-

A report that Philip II of Macedon was

marching on the town had thrown all Corinth
into a bustle; one was furbishing his arms, another wheeling stones, a third patching the wall,
a fourth strengthening a battlement, every one
making himself useful somehow or other. Diogenes having nothing to do of course no one
thought of giving him a job was moved by
the sight to gather up his philosophers cloak
and begin rolling his tub energetically up and
down the Craneum; an acquaintance asked for,
and got, the explanation: I do not want to be
thought the only idler in such a busy multitude;
I am rolling my tub to be like the rest.[29]

3
come ill from eating raw octopus;[33] or to have suered
an infected dog bite.[34] When asked how he wished to
be buried, he left instructions to be thrown outside the
city wall so wild animals could feast on his body. When
asked if he minded this, he said, Not at all, as long as
you provide me with a stick to chase the creatures away!"
When asked how he could use the stick since he would
lack awareness, he replied If I lack awareness, then why
should I care what happens to me when I am dead?"[35] At
the end, Diogenes made fun of peoples excessive concern
with the proper treatment of the dead. The Corinthians
erected to his memory a pillar on which rested a dog of
Parian marble.[36]

2 Philosophy
2.1 Cynicism

Alexander the Great visits Diogenes at Corinth by W. Matthews

(1914)

1.3

Along with Antisthenes and Crates of Thebes, Diogenes

is considered one of the founders of Cynicism. The ideas
of Diogenes, like those of most other Cynics, must be arrived at indirectly. No writings of Diogenes survive even
though he is reported to have authored over ten books, a
volume of letters and seven tragedies.[37] Cynic ideas are
inseparable from Cynic practice; therefore what we know
about Diogenes is contained in anecdotes concerning his
life and sayings attributed to him in a number of scattered
classical sources.

Diogenes and Alexander

Main article: Diogenes and Alexander

It was in Corinth that a meeting between Alexander the
Great and Diogenes is supposed to have taken place.[30]
The accounts of Plutarch and Diogenes Lartius recount
that they exchanged only a few words: while Diogenes
was relaxing in the sunlight in the morning, Alexander,
thrilled to meet the famous philosopher, asked if there
was any favour he might do for him. Diogenes replied,
Yes, stand out of my sunlight. Alexander then declared, If I were not Alexander, then I should wish to
be Diogenes, to which Diogenes replied, If I were not
Diogenes, I should also wish to be Diogenes.[31] In another account of the conversation, Alexander found the
philosopher looking attentively at a pile of human bones.
Diogenes explained, I am searching for the bones of
your father but cannot distinguish them from those of a
slave.[32]

Diogenes by Jules Bastien-Lepage (1873)

Diogenes maintained that all the articial growths of society were incompatible with happiness and that morality implies a return to the simplicity of nature. So great
was his austerity and simplicity that the Stoics would
later claim him to be a wise man or sophos. In his
words, Humans have complicated every simple gift of
the gods.[38] Although Socrates had previously identied
1.4 Death
himself as belonging to the world, rather than a city,[39]
Diogenes is credited with the rst known use of the word
There are conicting accounts of Diogenes death. He "cosmopolitan". When he was asked where he came
is alleged variously to have held his breath; to have be- from, he replied, I am a citizen of the world (cosmopo-

PHILOSOPHY

lites)".[40] This was a radical claim in a world where a ther dupe others or are duped, dogs will give an honest
mans identity was intimately tied to his citizenship in a bark at the truth. Diogenes stated that other dogs bite
particular city state. An exile and an outcast, a man with their enemies, I bite my friends to save them.[52]
no social identity, Diogenes made a mark on his contemporaries.
Diogenes had nothing but disdain for Plato and his abstract philosophy.[41] Diogenes viewed Antisthenes as the
true heir to Socrates, and shared his love of virtue and indierence to wealth,[42] together with a disdain for general opinion.[43] Diogenes shared Socrates belief that he
could function as doctor to mens souls and improve them
morally, while at the same time holding contempt for
their obtuseness. Plato once described Diogenes as a
Socrates gone mad.[44]

2.2

Obscenity

Diogenes taught by living example. He tried to demonstrate that wisdom and happiness belong to the man who
is independent of society and that civilization is regressive. He scorned not only family and political social organization, but also property rights and reputation. He
even rejected normal ideas about human decency. Diogenes is said to have eaten in the marketplace,[45] urinated on some people who insulted him,[46] defecated in
the theatre,[47] and masturbated in public. When asked
about his eating in public he said, If taking breakfast is
nothing out of place, then it is nothing out of place in the
marketplace. But taking breakfast is nothing out of place,
therefore it is nothing out of place to take breakfast in the
marketplace. [48] On the indecency of him masturbating
in public he would say, If only it were as easy to banish
hunger by rubbing my belly.[49][50]

Statue of Diogenes at Sinop, Turkey

The term Cynic itself derives from the Greek word

, kynikos, dog-like and that from , kyn,
"dog" (genitive: kynos).[53] One explanation oered in
ancient times for why the Cynics were called dogs was because Antisthenes taught in the Cynosarges gymnasium at
From Life of Diogenes: Someone took him [Diogenes]
Athens.[54] The word Cynosarges means the place of the
into a magnicent house and warned him not to spit,
white dog. Later Cynics also sought to turn the word to
whereupon, having cleared his throat, he spat into the
their advantage, as a later commentator explained:
mans face, being unable, he said, to nd a meaner receptacle.
There are four reasons why the Cynics are
so named. First because of the indierence of
their way of life, for they make a cult of in2.3 Diogenes as dogged or dog-like
dierence and, like dogs, eat and make love
in public, go barefoot, and sleep in tubs and at
Many anecdotes of Diogenes refer to his dog-like behavcrossroads. The second reason is that the dog
ior, and his praise of a dogs virtues. It is not known
is a shameless animal, and they make a cult
whether Diogenes was insulted with the epithet doggish
of shamelessness, not as being beneath modand made a virtue of it, or whether he rst took up the dog
esty, but as superior to it. The third reason is
theme himself. When asked why he was called dog he
that the dog is a good guard, and they guard
replied, I fawn on those who give me anything, I yelp at
the tenets of their philosophy. The fourth reathose who refuse, and I set my teeth in rascals.[17] Dioson is that the dog is a discriminating animal
genes believed human beings live articially and hypowhich can distinguish between its friends and
critically and would do well to study the dog. Besides perenemies. So do they recognize as friends those
forming natural body functions in public with ease, a dog
who are suited to philosophy, and receive them
will eat anything, and make no fuss about where to sleep.
kindly, while those untted they drive away,
Dogs live in the present without anxiety, and have no use
like dogs, by barking at them.[55]
for the pretensions of abstract philosophy. In addition to
these virtues, dogs are thought to know instinctively who
is friend and who is foe.[51] Unlike human beings who ei- As noted (see Death), Diogenes association with dogs

4.2

Literature

was memorialized by the Corinthians, who erected to his

memory a pillar on which rested a dog of Parian marble.[36]

2.4

Contemporary theory

Diogenes is discussed in a 1983 book by German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk (English language publication in
1987). In his Critique of Cynical Reason, Diogenes is
used as an example of Sloterdijks idea of the kynical
in which personal degradation is used for purposes of
community comment or censure. Calling the practice of
this tactic kynismos, Sloterdijk explains that the kynAlexander and Diogenes by Caspar de Crayer (c. 1650)
ical actor actually embodies the message he is trying to
convey. The goal here is typically a false regression that
mocks authority especially authority that the kynical Corinth. Others who have painted him with his famous
actor considers corrupt, suspect or unworthy.
lantern include de Ribera, Castiglione, Petrini, Grme,
There is another discussion of Diogenes and the Cynics Bastien-Lepage, and Waterhouse. The scene in which
in Michel Foucault's book Fearless Speech. Here Foucault Diogenes discards his cup has been painted by Poussin,
discusses Diogenes antics in relation to the speaking of Rosa, and Martin; and the story of Diogenes begging
truth (parrhesia) in the ancient world. Foucault expands from a statue has been depicted by Restout. In Raphael's
this reading in his last course at the Collge de France, fresco The School of Athens, a lone reclining gure in the
[59]
The Courage of Truth. In this course Foucault tries to foreground represents Diogenes.
establish an alternative conception of militancy and rev- Diogenes has also been the subject of sculptures, with faolution through a reading of Diogenes and Cynicism.[56] mous bas-relief images by Puget and Pajou.

Diogenes syndrome

Main article: Diogenes syndrome

Diogenes name has been applied to a behavioural
disorder characterised by involuntary self-neglect and
hoarding.[57] The disorder aicts the elderly and has
no relation to Diogenes deliberate rejection of material
comfort.[58]

4
4.1

Depictions
Art

Both in ancient and in modern times, Diogenes personality has appealed strongly to sculptors and to painters.
Ancient busts exist in the museums of the Vatican, the
Louvre, and the Capitol. The interview between Diogenes and Alexander is represented in an ancient marble
bas-relief found in the Villa Albani.
Among artists who have painted the famous encounter of
Diogenes with Alexander, there are works by de Crayer,
de Vos, Assereto, Langetti, Sevin, Sebastiano Ricci,
Gandol, Johann Christian Thomas Wink , Abildgaard,
Monsiau, Martin, and Daumier. The famous story of Diogenes searching for an honest man has been depicted by
Jordaens, van Everdingen, van der Wer, Pannini, and

4.2 Literature
Diogenes is referred to in Anton Chekhov's story Ward
No. 6"; William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven
and Hell; Franois Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel;
Goethe's poem Genialisch Treiben; as well as in the
rst sentence of Sren Kierkegaard's novelistic treatise
Repetition. The story of Diogenes and the lamp is referenced by the character Foma Fomitch in Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Friend of the Family as well as The Idiot. In Cervantes' short story The Man of Glass ("El
licenciado Vidriera"), part of the Novelas Ejemplares collection, the (anti-)hero unaccountably begins to channel
Diogenes in a string of tart chreiai once he becomes convinced that he is made of glass. Diogenes gives his own
life and opinions in Christoph Martin Wieland's novel
Socrates Mainomenos (1770; English translation Socrates
Out of His Senses, 1771). Diogenes is the primary model
for the philosopher Didactylos in Terry Pratchett's Small
Gods. He is mimicked by a beggar-spy in Jacqueline
Carey's Kushiels Scion and paid tribute to with a costume
in a party by the main character in its sequel, Kushiels
Justice. The character Lucy Snowe in Charlotte Bront's
novel Villette is given the nickname Diogenes. Diogenes
also features in Part Four of Elizabeth Smart's By Grand
Central Station I Sat Down and Wept. He is a gure
in Seamus Heaney's The Haw Lantern. In Christopher
Moore's Lamb: The Gospel According to Bi, Christs
Childhood Pal, one of Jesus' apostles is a devotee of Diogenes, complete with his own pack of dogs which he

5 NOTES
himself. The group is the focus of a number of Holmes
pastiches by Kim Newman. In the Rodgers and Hart musical The Boys From Syracuse (1938), the song Oh Diogenes!which extols the philosophers virtuescontains
the lyrics there was an old zany/ who lived in a tub;/ he
had so many ea-bites / he didn't know where to rub.
Diogenes was a character in the play and later movie A
Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Buster
Keaton played the part in the movie while terminally
ill.[64]

4.3 Television
In the 2012 series of Horrible Histories, Diogenes was depicted by Laurence Rickard in a song alongside Socrates
(Ben Willbond), Plato (Jim Howick) and Aristotle
(Mathew Baynton). The song was a parody of the theme
from The Monkees, entitled The Thinkers.

4.4 Business
Diogenes is often depicted for branding purposes, and his
quotes often mentioned, in the blogs of the status broadcasting mobile-application Murmur. [65]

John William Waterhouse's depiction of fashionable ladies peering at Diogenes in his jar

refers to as his own disciples. His story opens the rst

chapter of Dolly Freeds 1978 book Possum Living.[60]
The dog that Paul Dombey befriends in Charles Dickens' Dombey and Son is called Diogenes. Alexanders
meeting with Diogenes is portrayed in Valerio Manfredi's
(Alexander Trilogy) The Ends of the Earth.[61]
The many allusions to dogs in Shakespeares Timon of
Athens are references to the school of Cynicism that could
be interpreted as suggesting a parallel between the misanthropic hermit, Timon, and Diogenes; but Shakespeare
would have had access to Michel de Montaigne's essay,
Of Democritus and Heraclitus, which emphasised their
dierences: Timon actively wishes men ill and shuns
them as dangerous, whereas Diogenes esteems them so
little that contact with them could not disturb him[62]
Timonism is in fact often contrasted with Cynicism":
Cynics saw what people could be and were angered by
what they had become; Timonists felt humans were hopelessly stupid & uncaring by nature and so saw no hope for
change.[63]
The philosophers name was adopted by the ctional
Diogenes Club, an organization that Sherlock Holmes'
brother Mycroft Holmes belongs to in the story "The
Greek Interpreter" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is called
such as its members are educated, yet untalkative and
have a dislike of socialising, much like the philosopher

5 Notes
[1] Diogenes of Sinope Voice in the Wilderness. Retrieved
2011-11-13.
[2] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :79, Plutarch, Moralia, 717c.
says he died on the same day as Alexander the Great,
which puts his death at 323 BC. Diogenes Lartius's statement that Diogenes died nearly 90 would put his year of
birth at 412BC. But Censorinus (De die natali, 15.2) says
he died aged 81, which puts his year of birth at 404BC.
The Suda puts his birth at the time of the Thirty Tyrants,
which also gives 404BC.
[3] Diogenes Lartius, vi. 6, 18, 21; Dio Chrysostom, Orations, viii. 14; Aelian, x. 16; Stobaeus, Florilegium,
13.19
[4] The original Greek word describing Diogenes jar is
pithos, a large jar for storing wine, grain or olive oil. Modern variations include barrel, tub, vat, wine-vat, and kennel. Desmond, William (2008). Cynics. University of
California Press. p. 21.
[5] Diogenes of Sinope The Basics of Philosophy. Retrieved
November 13, 2011.
[6] (Lartius & Hicks 1925, :20). A trapezites was a
banker/money-changer who could exchange currency, arrange loans, and was sometimes entrusted with the minting of currency.
[7] Navia, Diogenes the Cynic, pg 226: The word
paracharaxis can be understood in various ways such as

the defacement of currency or the counterfeiting of coins

or the adulteration of money.
[8] Examined Lives from Socrates to Nietzsche by James
Miller pg:76

[32] This story appears frequently in books from the 16th to

the 19th century, and may be an example of an anecdote
invented about Diogenes in modern times. There is a similar anecdote in one of the dialogues of Lucian (Menippus,
15) but that story concerns Menippus in the underworld.

[9] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :20-21

[33] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :76; Athenaeus, 8.341.

[10] C. T. Seltman, Diogenes of Sinope, Son of the Banker

Hikesias, in Transactions of the International Numismatic
Congress 1936 (London 1938).

[34] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :77

[35] Cicero, Tusculanae Quaestiones, 1.43.

[11] Plato, Republic, 2.359-2.360.

[36] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :78; Greek Anthology, 1.285.;

Pausanias, 2.2.4.

[12] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :55 ; Seneca, De Tranquillitate

Animi, 8.7.; Aelian, Varia Historia, 13.28.

[37] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :80

[13] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :21 ; Aelian, Varia Historia,

10.16.; Jerome, Adversus Jovinianum, 2.14.

[38] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :44

[39] Cicero, Tusculanae Quaestiones, 5.37.; Plutarch, On Exile,
5.; Epictetus, Discourses, i.9.1.

[14] Long 1996, p. 45

[15] Dudley 1937, p. 2

[40] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :63. Compare: Lartius &

Hicks 1925, :72, Dio Chrysostom, Or. 4.13, Epictetus, Discourses, iii.24.66.

[16] Prince 2005, p. 77

[41] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :24
[17] Examined Lives from Socrates to Nietzsche by James
Miller pg:78
[18] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :23 ; Jerome, Adversus Jovinianum, 2.14.
[19] Examined lives from Socrates to Nietzsche by James
Miller
[20] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :37 ; Seneca, Epistles, 90.14.;
Jerome, Adversus Jovinianum, 2.14.
[21] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :41. Modern sources often say
that Diogenes was looking for an honest man, but in ancient sources he is simply looking for a human (anthrpos). The unreasoning behavior of the people around him
means that they do not qualify as human.
[22] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :32
[23] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :40
[24] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :29
[25]

[26] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :30-31
[27] Diogenes of Sinope. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2006-04-26. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
[28] Dio Chrysostom, Or. 8.10

[42] Plato, Apology, 41e.

[43] Xenophon, Apology, 1.
[44] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :54 ; Aelian, Varia Historia,
14.33.
[45] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :58,69. Eating in public places
was considered bad manners.
[46] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :46
[47] Dio Chrysostom, Or. 8.36; Julian, Orations, 6.202c.
[48] Examined Lives from Socrates to Nietzsche by James
Miller pg:80
[49] Examined Lives from Socrates to Nietzsche by James
Miller pg:80
[50] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :34-35 ; Epictetus, Discourses,
iii.2.11. Pointing with ones middle nger was considered
insulting; with the nger pointing up instead of to another
person, the nger gesture is considered obscene in modern
times.
[51] Cf. Plato, Republic Book II
[52] Diogenes of Sinope, quoted by Stobaeus, Florilegium, iii.
13. 44.
[53] Kynikos, A Greek-English Lexicon, Liddell and Scott,
at Perseus

[29] Lucian, Historia, 3.

[54] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :13. Cf. The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, 2nd edition, p. 165.

[30] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :38 ; Cicero, Tusculanae

Quaestiones, 5.32.; Plutarch, Alexander, 14, On Exile, 15;
Dio Chrysostom, Or. 4.14

[55] Scholium on Aristotles Rhetoric, quoted in Dudley 1937,

p. 5

[31] Lartius & Hicks 1925, :32; Plutarch, Alexander, 14,

On Exile, 15.

[56] See the 7 March lecture Michel Foucault, The Courage

of the Truth Lectures at the Collge de France (Palgrave
Macmillan, 2011)

EXTERNAL LINKS

[57] Hanon C, Pinquier C, Gaddour N, Sad S, Mathis D, Pellerin J (2004). "[Diogenes syndrome: a transnosographic
approach]". Encephale (in French) 30 (4): 31522.
doi:10.1016/S0013-7006(04)95443-7. PMID 15538307

Prince, Susan (2005). Socrates, Antisthenes, and

the Cynics. In Ahbel-Rappe, Sara; Kamtekar,
Rachana. A Companion to Socrates. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1-4051-0863-0

[58] Navia, Diogenes the Cynic, pg 31

Sloterdijk, Peter (1987). Critique of Cynical Reason. Translation by Michael Eldred; foreword by
Andreas Huyssen. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-1586-1

[59] Michelangelo and the Popes Ceiling, by Ross King

[60] Possum Living by Dolly Freed
[61] Alexander: The Ends of the Earth by Valerio Manfredi.
Books.google.com. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
[62] Hugh Grady, A Companion to Shakespeares Works,
Dutton. R & Howard J., Blakewell Publishing, 2003,
ISBN 0-631-22632-X, p.443-444.

7 Further reading
Cutler, Ian (2005). Cynicism from Diogenes to Dilbert. Jeerson, Va.: McFarland & Company, Inc.
ISBN 0-7864-2093-6.

[63] Paul Ollswang, Cynicism: A Series of Cartoons on a

Philosophical Theme, January 1988, page B at ocial
site; repr. in The Best Comics of the Decade 1980-1990
Vol. 1, Seattle, 1990, ISBN 1-56097-035-9, p. 23.

Mazella, David (2007). The making of modern cynicism. Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia
Press. ISBN 978-0-8139-2615-5.

[64] Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow, Thames Television

documentary (aired in the U.S. on Turner Classic Movies)

Navia, Luis E. (1996). Classical cynicism : a critical

study. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313-30015-1.

[65] Becker, Adam. Diogenes of Sinope. Murmur Blog.

Murmur. Retrieved 5 May 2015.

References
Desmond, William D. 2008. Cynics. Acumen / University of California Press.
Dudley, Donald R. (1937). A History of Cynicism
from Diogenes to the 6th Century A.D. Cambridge
Lartius, Diogenes; Plutarch (1979). Herakleitos &
Diogenes. translated by Guy Davenport. Bolinas,
California: Grey Fox Press. ISBN 0-912516-36-4.
(Contains 124 sayings of Diogenes)
Lartius, Diogenes (1972) [1925]. " (Diogenes)".
[Lives of eminent philosophers].
Volume 2. translated by Robert Drew Hicks (Loeb
Classical Library ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-99204-0.
Retrieved 2010-09-14.
Long, A. A. (1996). The Socratic Tradition: Diogenes, Crates, and Hellenistic Ethics. In Bracht
Branham, R.; Goulet-Caz, Marie-Odile. The Cynics: The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy.
University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-216458
Navia, Luis E. (2005). Diogenes The Cynic: The
War Against The World. Amherst, N.Y: Humanity
Books. ISBN 1-59102-320-3

Navia, Luis E. (1998). Diogenes of Sinope : the man

in the tub. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN
0-313-30672-9.
Sayre, Farrand (1938). Diogenes of Sinope: A Study
of Greek Cynicism. Baltimore: J.H. Furst.
Shea, Louisa (2010). The cynic enlightenment : Diogenes in the salon. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-9385-8.

8 External links
Diogenes of Sinope entry in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Lives & Writings on the Cynics, directory of literary
references to Ancient Cynics
A day with Diogenes
Diogenes The Dog from Millions of Mouths
Diogenes of Sinope
Teachings of Diogenes
James Grout: Diogenes the Cynic, part of the Encyclopdia Romana

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9.2

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