Diogenes, whose barrel made him famous, lived over two thousand years ago. He had his own idea of life, which he saw in simplicity and getting rid of conventions and material goods.
He is considered one of the brightest representatives of the school of cynics. He preferred an existence like a dog to the conventional life, which needs a place to sleep and food to be happy. As a dwelling, he chose a vessel. This act later became the basis of the well-known aphorism.
What is known about the life of a thinker? Did Diogenes sleep in a real barrel? What does the phrase "Barrel of Diogenes" mean? You can find out about this in the article.
General information about Diogenes of Sinop
All known information about the philosopher has come down to our days from the stories of the ancient writer, who lived in the third century, Diogenes Laertes. By this time, more than five hundred years had passed after the death of Diogenes of Sinop, so it is enough to hope for the authenticity of the information.difficult.
Born a barrel-dwelling Diogenes around 412 BC. e. It is known that he was the son of a money changer. Once he asked the oracle about what he should do. The answer was the phrase: "Reassessment of values." The man decided that he needed to start re-minting coins, but then he realized that his vocation was in philosophy.
The Thinker joined Antisthenes in Athens. At first, he even waved a stick at him, to which Diogenes turned his head and said that Antisthenes could not find such a stick that could drive him away. From that time on, he became a student of Antisthenes and began to lead the simplest way of life. He arranged his dwelling in an interesting way, which led to the appearance of a phraseological unit that Diogenes slept in a barrel. His housing was located near the Athenian agora - the city square, which was the center of secular and social life of that time.
The ancient Greek philosopher was a student of Antisthenes and a prominent representative of the Cynic school. The essence of the doctrine was that in order to achieve the common good, people should live "like a dog." It meant living in simplicity, despising convention, being able to stand up for the chosen way of life, being loyal, brave and grateful.
Asceticism
The philosopher was an adherent of asceticism. He considered the ideal of such a way of life to be the behavior of mice, which were not afraid of anything, did not strive for anything, being content with little. The thinker sought to achieve the ideal in his life. That's why Diogenes slept in a barrel. Instead of a bed, he used a raincoat, and fromthings had only a staff and a bag.
As an old man, he noticed how the boy drank water from a handful. This greatly upset the thinker, who immediately threw the cup out of the bag. At the same time, he said that the boy was able to surpass him in simplicity. He also threw away his bowl when he witnessed another boy manage to eat lentil stew from a slice of eaten bread.
Aphorism with a barrel
The whole point of the representatives of the Cynic school was not to depend on material goods, to become free from them. The house was also a certain luxury, so Diogenes, whose barrel made him famous, decided to rid himself of this material excess.
In an allegorical sense, the famous phraseological unit means voluntary isolation from the outside world. Diogenes, whose barrel became his home, rid himself of the generally accepted blessings and prejudices. With this, he made his life simple and free.
Was there a barrel?
Diogenes, whose barrel haunts many until now, actually lived in pithos. According to the results of archaeological excavations on the territory of Ancient Greece, there were no barrels in our understanding.
The Athenians used instead large (human-sized) clay vessels. In them they kept grain, wine, oil.
It was in such a pithos that a philosopher could live. It was enough to lay the vessel horizontally in order to sleep in it, covered with a cloak. All the rest of the time the thinker could spend outside the vessel, being on the street. For hygiene needs at the timeeveryone used public baths and toilets, so Diogenes might not really need a home.
Once the children broke the pithos in which Diogenes lived. The inhabitants of Athens eventually provided him with housing in the form of a new earthen vessel. So the thinker lived until Macedonia decided to capture Athens.
Last period of life
Diogenes was a participant in the Chaeronean battle, which took place in 338 BC. e. between Macedonia and Athens with Thebes. The forces of the parties were almost equal, but the troops of Philip II and Alexander the Great defeated the army of the Greek city-states.
The Thinker, like many Athenians, was captured by the Macedonians. He was sold from the slave market to a certain Xeniad. The owner of the new slave bought him as a tutor for his children. The Athenian philosopher taught them horseback riding, history, Greek poetry, and javelin throwing.
There is a story that when he had the opportunity to turn to Alexander the Great with a request, he only asked him not to block the sun for him. As a true representative of the school of cynics, he did not need anything and saw his freedom in this even when he was captured.
Death of a philosopher
The philosopher died in 323 BC. e. It is believed that death came to him on the same day as to Alexander the Great. Before he died, he asked his master to bury him face down. A marble monument was erected on the grave of the thinker, which depicted a dog. On thethe monument made an inscription that Diogenes was able to teach people to be content with what you have, and showed a simple way in life.
Today the memory of the philosopher is kept by the well-known idiom "the barrel of Diogenes".
