Crates of Thebes
Crates of Thebes (c. 368/365 - c. 288/285 B.C.E.), a Hellenistic philosopher, was one of the Cynics and the teacher of Zeno of Citium. Crates was from Thebes and was a student of Diogenes of Sinope.
It is said that he lost his ample fortune owing to the Macedonian invasion, but a more probable story is that he sacrificed it in accordance with his principles, directing the banker, to whom he entrusted it, to give it to his sons if they should prove fools, but to the poor if his sons should prove philosophers.
He gave up his life to the attainment of virtue and the propagation of ascetic self-control. His habit of entering houses for this purpose, uninvited, earned him the nickname "Door-opener". He married Hipparchia, daughter of a wealthy Thracian family, who was said to have wholeheartedly taken up the Cynic lifestyle with Crates.
His writings were few. According to Diogenes Laërtius, he was the author of a number of letters on philosophical subjects; but those extant under the name of Crates are spurious, the work of later rhetoricians. Diogenes Laërtius credits him with a short poem, and several philosophic tragedies. Plutarch's life of Crates is lost. The great importance of Crates' work is that he formed the link between Cynicism and the Stoics, Zeno of Citium being his pupil.
This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
de:Krates von Theben es:Crates de Tebas it:Cratete di Tebe nl:Kratès pt:Crates de Tebas ru:Кратет Фифанский sk:Krates z Téb fi:Krates Thebalainen
Hipparchia the Cynic was a female Greek philosopher said to have been born around 340 B.C.E.
Little is known about Hipparchia, for several reasons. First, she was a member of the unpopular Cynic school, and second she was a woman and as such not supposed to be involved in what the Ancient Greeks perceived as the male pursuit of philosophy. These two factors are thought to have contributed to the fact that her writings were not preserved. As such, our knowledge of Hipparchia comes from mentions of her in the surviving works of other philosophers.
Hipparchia was married to another Cynic philosopher named Crates and in doing so chose the Cynic lifestyle. This means that she chose a life void of material possessions and artificial social conventions. For most Cynics this included marriage because of the cynic belief in rejecting social and political order in order to become an unconventional citizen of the universe. However their union could be reinterpreted as a rejection of having to conform to the beliefs of the cynics thus being an act of cynicism.
Another Cynic belief followed by Hipparchia was shamelessness. According to St. Augustine, Hipparchia and her husband were said to follow this so closely that they consummated their marriage by having sex on a public porch. Finally after putting down Theodorus he proceeded to strip her of her robe however she showed no alarm from this act because of this belief in shamelessness.
External links
ru:Гиппархия
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