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The Cynics were a group of Greek philosophers who lived around 300 BC and followed in the footsteps of Socrates, the most prominent of which were Antisthenes, Diogenes, Crates, and Hipparchia.
When you talk about the followers of Socrates, most people think of Plato, Aristotle, and Xenophon, but although these philosophers learned from Socrates and greatly admired him, they weren’t really anything like him. Socrates never wrote anything down, and he broke away from traditional philosophy by eschewing metaphysics and instead asking questions about the virtuous life.
Plato and Aristotle, on the other hand, leaned all the way into metaphysics and epistemology, and not only did they write it down, they wrote more stuff down than anyone who ever lived, and not many people have broken their record even to this day, except maybe Stephen King.
Xenophon was a bit more similar to Socrates until he got super interested in politics and killing people.
The Cynics preferred to actually emulate the way that Socrates lived, and their most notable principle was their vow of poverty. In fact, the Cynics took this principle even further than Socrates did, so they were actually kind of Socratic extremists.
Antisthenes started out as a Sophist, but after getting to know Socrates, he decided to dedicate his life to the study of virtue. For Antisthenes, this meant complete abstinence from physical pleasures, and going without luxuries. He thought that virtue was sufficient for happiness, and that it can be taught.
There’s some dispute in the history of philosophy about whether Antisthenes truly qualifies a Cynic, since the word was never used to describe him at the time. “Cynic,” in this sense, means something completely different to how the word is used today, which is something like being pessimistic about other people’s motivations. In ancient Greece, the word “Cynic” meant something much closer to “Dog-like.”
This was the nickname given to Diogenes of Sinope, who lived on the streets of Athens inside a barrel. Diogenes also greatly admired Socrates and may have been a pupil of Antisthenes, but he took the desire for simplicity even further. The story goes that his only possessions were a single cloak, a knapsack, and a lantern. Plato allegedly referred to him as “Socrates gone mad.”
Diogenes is a figure that a lot of people love to talk about, because although he never wrote down anything, he became the subject of many amusing stories, many of which are probably made up. One story goes that he used to own a cup, but threw it away when he saw someone drinking water out of their hand, realizing that he was not yet living as frugally as possible. Most famously, it’s said that Alexander the Great was passing through Athens one time and stopped to talk to him. He offered to grant the philosopher one favour, to which Diogenes replied “Step out of my sunlight.”
But Diogenes carried on Socrates’ tradition of just being kind of a jerk. The story goes that he would walk around the city carrying his lantern and declaring loudly that he was searching for an honest man.
Diogenes believed that being honest was being true to oneself and this meant living in harmony with nature. The good and honest life, therefore, did not necessarily mean obeying social etiquette. As such, Diogenes would deliberately break etiquette by eating, drinking, and… doing other things… in public.
Crates of Thebes was a man born into great wealth, but when he learned about Cynical philosophy he decided being rich wasn’t fulfilling, and gave all his wealth away to live on the street, allegedly becoming Diogenes’ student.
Crates took the philosophy to an almost masochistic degree, depriving himself of food to the point of near starvation, and wearing a thin cloak in winter and a thicker one in summer just to subject himself to greater adversity.
The story goes that he was acquainted with one of Theophrastus’ students, a guy named Metrocles, who humiliated himself by farting in public. Crates consoled him by teaching him about Cynicism, and then he married Metrocles’ sister, Hipparchia.
Hipparchia then threw away her own wealth and became another important teacher in the school of Cynicism, and you might note that she’s the first female philosopher I’ve mentioned in my videos.
That’s because the Cynics were really the first group of philosophers to regard women on equal terms. It would be a little while before that would happen again, but it’s still important to give credit where it’s due.
Sources:
Adamson, Peter., Philosophy in the Hellenistic & Roman Worlds: A history of philosophy without any gaps. Oxford University Press, 2015.
Jenkins, Martin., Diogenes the Cynic (c.404-323 BC). Philosophy Now, 2022.
Kennedy, William John., Antisthenes' Literary Fragments: Edited with Introduction, Translations, and Commentary. A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Faculty of Arts, University of Sydney, 2017.
Mark, Joshua J., Antisthenes of Athens. World History Encyclopedia, 2014.
Mark, Joshua J., Hipparchia the Cynic: Devoted Wife, Mother, & Outspoken Greek Philosopher. World History Encyclopedia, 2021.
Mark, Joshua J., The Life of Crates of Thebes in Diogenes Laertius. World History Encyclopedia, 2014.
Parry, Richard, and Thorsrud, Harald., Ancient Ethical Theory. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2004-2021.
Piering, Julie., Antisthenes (c. 446—366 B.C.E.). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2025.
Piering, Julie., Cynics. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2025.
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