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When Alexander the Great met the philosopher Diogenes of Sinope (today's Sinop in Turkey) in Corinth and asked what he could do for him, Diogenes is said to have replied: 'Stand a little out of my sun.'

Philosophy history

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Diogenes (about 412–323 BC) left Sinope, a Greek city on the Black Sea coast, after a scandal over debased coins, and settled in Athens. He lived by begging, slept in a large storage jar and walked through the market in daylight with a lit lamp, saying he was looking for a human being. He was the best-known Cynic, from the Greek word for 'dog-like', a name that mocked his shameless way of life and that he wore with pride. The meeting with Alexander is told by Plutarch and by Diogenes Laërtius, who wrote about the lives of the philosophers, both centuries later, so its details may have been polished. Plutarch adds that Alexander said: if I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes. Sinop honours him with a statue, put up in 2006, showing him with his lamp and a dog.

Türkçe oku
Büyük İskender, Sinoplu filozof Diyojen'le Korint'te karşılaşıp onun için ne yapabileceğini sorduğunda, Diyojen'in “Güneşimin önünden biraz çekil” dediği anlatılır.

Diyojen (yaklaşık MÖ 412–323), sikkelerle ilgili bir kalpazanlık skandalının ardından Karadeniz kıyısındaki Yunan kenti Sinope'den, yani bugünkü Sinop'tan ayrılıp Atina'ya yerleşti. Dilenerek yaşadı, büyük bir erzak küpünde uyudu, güpegündüz elinde yanan bir fenerle pazar yerinde dolaşıp “İnsan arıyorum” dedi. Kinik denen filozofların en ünlüsüydü. Bu ad Yunancada “köpek gibi” anlamına gelir; utanma bilmez yaşayışıyla alay etmek için takılmıştı, Diyojen ise onu gururla taşıdı. İskender'le karşılaşmasını Plutarkhos ve filozofların hayatlarını yazan Diogenes Laertios anlatır; ikisi de olaydan yüzyıllar sonra yazdığından ayrıntılar zamanla süslenmiş olabilir. Plutarkhos'a göre İskender, “İskender olmasaydım Diyojen olmak isterdim” demiştir. Sinop, 2006'da elinde feneri, yanında köpeğiyle bir Diyojen heykeli dikerek hemşehrisini anıyor.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Diogenes
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