Diogenes, whose barrel brought him fame, lived more than two thousand years ago. He had his own idea of ​​life, which he saw in simplicity and deliverance from conventions and material wealth.
He is considered one of the brightest representatives of the school of cynics. In common life, he preferred existence like a dog, which needs a place to sleep and food to be happy. He chose a vessel as a dwelling. This act subsequently became the basis of the famous aphorism.
What is known about the life of the thinker? Did Diogenes sleep in a real barrel? What does the expression “Barrel of Diogenes” mean? This can be found in the article.
General information about Diogenes of Sinope
All known information about the philosopher came to our days from the stories of the ancient writer, who lived in the third century, Diogenes Laertius. By this time, more than five hundred years had passed since the death of Diogenes of Sinope , so it is difficult to hope for the authenticity of the information.
Diogenes was born, living a barrel, around 412 BC. e. It is known that he was the son of a money changer. Once he asked the oracle what he should do. The answer was the phrase: "Revaluation of values." The man decided that he needed to do re-coining, but then he realized that his calling was in philosophy.
The thinker sided with Athens at Athens. At first, he even swung 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. Since that time, he became a student of Antisthenes and began to lead the simplest way of life. He arranged his home in an interesting way, which led to the appearance of idioms 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 school of cynics. The essence of the teaching was that in order to achieve the common good, people should live "like a dog." This meant living in simplicity, despising conventions, being able to uphold the chosen lifestyle, being faithful, brave and grateful.
Asceticism
The philosopher was a follower of asceticism. He considered the ideal of such a lifestyle to be the behavior of mice that were not afraid of anything, did not strive for anything, content with little. The thinker sought to achieve the ideal in his life. That's why Diogenes was sleeping in a barrel. Instead of a bed he used a cloak, and of the things he had only a staff and a bag.
As an old man, he noticed how a boy drank water from a handful. This very upset the thinker, who immediately threw the bowl out of the bag. However, he said that the boy was able to surpass him in simplicity. He also threw out his bowl when he witnessed how another boy managed to eat lentil soup from a piece of eaten bread.
Aphorism with a barrel
The whole point of the representatives of the cynic school was to not depend on material wealth, 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 phraseologism means voluntary isolation from the outside world. Diogenes, whose barrel became his home, delivered himself from generally accepted blessings and prejudices. By this he made his life simple and free.
Was there a barrel?
Diogenes, a barrel of which haunts many until now, actually lived in Pythos. According to the results of archaeological excavations in the territory of Ancient Greece, there were no barrels in our understanding.
The Athenians used instead large (human-sized) clay vessels. In them they stored grain, wine, oil.
It was in such a pythos that a philosopher could live. The vessel was enough to lay horizontally in order to sleep in it, hiding in a cloak. The rest of the time the thinker could spend outside the vessel while on the street. For hygiene needs, at that time everyone used public baths and toilets, so Diogenes really did not need a house.
Once the children broke the pythos in which Diogenes lived. The inhabitants of Athens eventually provided him with housing in the form of a new clay vessel. So the thinker lived until Macedonia decided to capture Athens.
Last period of life
Diogenes was a participant in the Battle of Heronay, 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 of Macedon defeated the army of the Greek city-states.
The thinker, like many Athenians, was captured by the Macedonians. He was sold from a slave market to a certain Xeniade. The owner of the new slave bought him as a mentor for his children. The Athenian philosopher taught them horseback riding, history, Greek poetry, and dart 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. 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.
The death of the 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 his death, he asked his master to bury him face down. At the thinker's grave, a marble monument was erected, which depicted a dog. An inscription was made on the monument that Diogenes was able to teach people to be content with what you have, and indicated a simple path in life.
Today, the memory of the philosopher is kept by the famous phraseological unit “Diogenes barrel”.