The Cynic Greek Philosopher That Masturbated In Public

Diogenes, the oddly brilliant philosopher

Diogenes and his dog companions, seated in his tub in Athens, lighting a lamp in daylight, which he used to search for an honest man. Picture through Wikimedia commons.

Diogenes of Sinope (404–323 BC) was an active follower of the school of cynicism: the belief that the purpose of life is living in agreement with nature — using only the bare necessities.

Just like all other cynics, Diogenes rejected the things that were widely believed to make people happy: money, power, fame, and possessions. He criticized anyone who wasn’t temperate or honest. Cynicism was largely inspired by stoicism.

While he stood for his beliefs with great passion, he expressed them in a strange way. Rather than talking about his ideology, which was the standard way of philosophizing in ancient Greek times, Diogenes showed the world what he believed in through bizarre behavior.

How Diogenes lived his life

Diogenes was a textbook cynic. He saw virtue in poverty and became homeless by choice. He begged, foraged, and rummaged the streets to get by, living in a ceramic barrel near the marketplace of Athens. He had no possessions, except for a lamp — which he used as a demonstration of his beliefs. He preferred being alone. Diogenes cared so little about his appearance, that people referred to him as “the dog” (which he took as a compliment since he praised the…