![]() ![]() ![]() He was the first, say some, to fold his cloak because he was obliged to sleep in it as well, and he carried a wallet to hold his victuals, and he used any place for any purpose, for breakfasting, sleeping, or conversing. Through watching a mouse running about, says Theophrastus in the Megarian dialogue, not looking for a place to lie down in, not afraid of the dark, not seeking any of the things which are considered to be dainties, he discovered the means of adapting himself to circumstances. Once when he stretched out his staff against him, the pupil offered his head with the words, "Strike, for you will find no wood hard enough to keep me away from you, so long as I think you've something to say." From that time forward he was his pupil, and, exile as he was, set out upon a simple life.ΔΆ2. Being repulsed by him, because he never welcomed pupils, by sheer persistence Diogenes wore him out. On reaching Athens he fell in with Antisthenes. One version is that his father entrusted him with the money and that he debased it, in consequence of which the father was imprisoned and died, while the son fled, came to Delphi, and inquired, not whether he should falsify the coinage, but what he should do to gain the greatest reputation and that then it was that he received the oracle. When the god gave him permission to alter the political currency, not understanding what this meant, he adulterated the state coinage, and when he was detected, according to some he was banished, while according to others he voluntarily quitted the city for fear of consequences. Some say that having been appointed to superintend the workmen he was persuaded by them, and that he went to Delphi or to the Delian oracle in his own city and inquired of Apollo whether he should do what he was urged to do. Moreover Diogenes himself actually confesses in his Pordalus that he adulterated the coinage. But Eubulides in his book on Diogenes says that Diogenes himself did this and was forced to leave home along with his father. Diocles relates that he went into exile because his father was entrusted with the money of the state and adulterated the coinage. Diogenes was a native of Sinope, son of Hicesius, a banker. It could also be an action artist who even exposes the philosophers themselves for their hypocrisy and their game of hide-and-seek behind theoretical writings.20. One can't help but think of the subculture of punkers, who also try to mirror the irrationality of society by taking certain things to extremes. ![]() In any case, his honest break with society is interesting, insofar as he rationally justifies his actions. So is Diogenes a good role model? Of course, this cannot be answered unequivocally. If someone feels hunger, he will also rub his belly and eat or drink something and it is no different with the sexual need. As a reason for why Diogenes does this publicly, he replied that it is only natural to satisfy this need and that it does not matter where one does this. The point of this was to show his fellow citizens the arbitrary nature of moral codes. In fact, Sigmund Freud also picks up on this in his writings. The other story is that Diogenes is said to have masturbated publicly. Diogenes' answer is the unsurpassable testimony to the fact that he deeply rejected possessions and power and the dependencies that went with them. One must understand that Alexander was probably the most powerful person in the Greek-Macedonian area at that time. One is his answer to Alexander the Great, who approached him and wanted to fulfill a wish of his choice, to which Diogenes only casually replied: "Get out of my sun". There are probably two anecdotes out of many that are always associated with Diogenes - at least on the Internet.
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