history

Diogenes and Alexander

A funny exchange between Alexander the Great and Diogenes, and how Alexander was tutored by Aristotle and learned about Persian customs and traditions.

Bram Adams

Feb 19, 2023 — 2 min read

As Alexander the Great was passing through Corinth, he sought out Diogenes and finally found him sitting under a tree, dressed in rags, with not a drachma to his name. When the most powerful man in the world asked the philosopher if he could do anything to help him, Diogenes replied, “Yes, if you could step out of the way. You are blocking the sun.” Alexander’s soldiers were horrified and steeled themselves for the inevitable outburst of their commander’s famous anger. But he only laughed and remarked that if he were not Alexander, he would certainly like to be Diogenes. (Location 1174)

Homeless society in John Wick gives off a Diogenes vibe.^[1]

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Alexander's Tutelage

Before Alexander was a conquerer 202302191528, he was a student:

Aristotle was the head of the royal academy of Macedon and, in 343 BC, Philip II of Macedon invited him to serve as the tutor for the prince, Alexander. Alexander received inspiration for his eastward conquests, as Aristotle was encouraged to become: "a leader to the Greeks and a despot to the barbarians, to look after the former as after friends and relatives, and to deal with the latter as with beasts or plants". Aristotle held ethnocentric views against Persia, which estranged him and Alexander as the latter adopted a few of the Persian royal customs and clothing. This tension led to ancient rumors that painted Aristotle as a suspect for Alexander’s death, but this rumor spread based on a single claim made six years after Alexander’s passing. (View Highlight)

Alexander also received his primary education on the Persian customs and traditions through Aristotle. Aristotle’s tutelage is also attributed as the reason why Alexander brought an entourage of zoologists, botanists, philosophers, and other researchers on his expeditions deep into the east. Through those expeditions Alexander discovered that much of the geography he learned from Aristotle was plainly wrong. Upon Aristotle’s publication of his geographic work, Alexander lamented… (View Highlight)