Diogenes studied under Antisthenes, who, by the way, hated students. Diogenes took his master’s teachings to heart and went him one better. Being called a dog was not enough for him; he actually lived with a pack of stray dogs.
Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.), having heard of Diogenes, made a point of meeting him.
Diogenes was sitting on the seashore when the magnificent, handsome young king of Greece and conqueror of the known world rode up on his powerful charger. Looking down on the reclining Cynic, he said:
“I am Alexander the Great.”
“I am Diogenes, the dog,” replied the Cynic.
“The dog?”
“I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy, and bite louts.”
“What can I do for you?” asked the Ruler of the World.
“Stand aside, you are blocking my light.”
So impressed was Alexander with the uncompromising character of Diogenes that he later said, “If I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes.”
This sketch is based on material in
Guy Davenport’s Herakleitos and
Diogenes (San Francisco: Grey Fox
Press, 1979), pp. 35-37
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