Alexander the Great bothers Diogenes the Cynic.

posted by LockeProposal on HistoryAnecdotes

When the congress was over, ‘many statesmen and philosophers came to [Alexander] with their congratulations’; we can imagine the scene all too clearly. But one famous character was conspicuous by his absence: Diogenes the Cynic. Piqued and curious, Alexander eventually went out to the suburb where Diogenes lived, in his large clay tub, and approached him personally. He found the philosopher sunning himself, naked except for a loin-cloth. Diogenes, his meditations disturbed by the noise and laughter of the numerous courtiers who came flocking at the captain-general’s heels, looked up at Alexander with a direct, uncomfortable gaze, but said nothing.

For once in his life, Alexander was somewhat embarrassed. He greeted Diogenes with elaborate formality, and waited. Diogenes remained silent. At last, in desperation, Alexander asked if there was anything the philosopher wanted, anything he, Alexander, could do for him?

’Yes,’ came the famous answer, ‘stand aside; you’re keeping the sun off me.’

That was the end of the interview. As they trooped back into Corinth, Alexander’s followers tried to turn the episode into a joke, jeering at Diogenes and belittling his pretensions. But the captain-general silenced them with one enigmatic remark. ‘If I were not Alexander,’ he said, ‘I would be Diogenes.’

Author’s Note:

The story was extremely popular in antiquity; Berve (loc. Cit.) has collected no less than twenty-two references. Modern scholars, for reasons not entirely clear to me, regard it as fiction, seemingly on the grounds that it is designed to illustrate character. Why such anecdotes should automatically be taken as unhistorical is hard to see; even on the law of averages one would expect some of them to have a basis in fact.

Source:

Green, Peter. “The Keys of the Kingdom.” Alexander of Macedon: 356-323 B.C.: A Historical Biography. Univ. of California Press, 2005. 122-23. Print.

Original Source Listed:

Plut. Alex. 14.1-3, Moral. 33IF, 605D, 782A.

Diog. Laert. 6.32.

cf. Berve, APG, II, p. 417, n. 3.

Further Reading:

Διογένης (Diogenes) / Διογένης ὁ Κυνικός (Diogenes the Cynic)

Alexander III of Macedon / Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας (Alexander the Great)

>When the congress was over, ‘many statesmen and philosophers came to [Alexander] with their congratulations’; we can imagine the scene all too clearly. But one famous character was conspicuous by his absence: [Diogenes the Cynic](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Jean-L%C3%A9on_G%C3%A9r%C3%B4me_-_Diogenes_-_Walters_37131.jpg). Piqued and curious, [Alexander](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Alexander_the_Great_mosaic.jpg) eventually went out to the suburb where Diogenes lived, in his large clay tub, and approached him personally. He found the philosopher sunning himself, naked except for a loin-cloth. Diogenes, his meditations disturbed by the noise and laughter of the numerous courtiers who came flocking at the captain-general’s heels, looked up at Alexander with a direct, uncomfortable gaze, but said nothing. >For once in his life, Alexander was somewhat embarrassed. He greeted Diogenes with elaborate formality, and waited. Diogenes remained silent. At last, in desperation, Alexander asked if there was anything the philosopher wanted, anything he, Alexander, could do for him? >’Yes,’ came the famous answer, ‘stand aside; you’re keeping the sun off me.’ >That was the end of the interview. As they trooped back into Corinth, Alexander’s followers tried to turn the episode into a joke, jeering at Diogenes and belittling his pretensions. But the captain-general silenced them with one enigmatic remark. ‘If I were not Alexander,’ he said, ‘I would be Diogenes.’ ____________________________ **Author’s Note:** The story was extremely popular in antiquity; Berve (loc. Cit.) has collected no less than twenty-two references. Modern scholars, for reasons not entirely clear to me, regard it as fiction, seemingly on the grounds that it is designed to illustrate character. Why such anecdotes should automatically be taken as unhistorical is hard to see; even on the law of averages one would expect *some* of them to have a basis in fact. ____________________________ **Source:** Green, Peter. “The Keys of the Kingdom.” Alexander of Macedon: 356-323 B.C.: A Historical Biography. Univ. of California Press, 2005. 122-23. Print. **Original Source Listed:** Plut. *Alex*. 14.1-3, *Moral*. 33IF, 605D, 782A. Diog. Laert. 6.32. cf. Berve, *APG*, II, p. 417, n. 3. _____________________________ **Further Reading:** [Διογένης (Diogenes) / Διογένης ὁ Κυνικός (Diogenes the Cynic)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes) [Alexander III of Macedon / Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας (Alexander the Great)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great)

Alexander the Great bothers Diogenes the Cynic.

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