Diogenes the Cynic was a Greek philosopher. After being exiled, he moved to Athens and criticized many cultural conventions of the city.

Diogenes made a virtue of poverty. He begged for a living and often slept in a large ceramic jar, or pithos, in the marketplace.

He used his simple lifestyle and behavior to criticize the social values and institutions of what he saw as a corrupt, confused society.

He had a reputation for sleeping and eating wherever he chose in a highly non-traditional fashion.

His attitude was grounded in a disdain for what he regarded as the folly, pretence, vanity and artificiality of human conduct.

He declared himself a cosmopolitan and a citizen of the world rather than claiming allegiance to just one place.

Diogenes shared Socrates's belief that he could function as doctor to men's souls and improve them morally, while at the same time holding contempt for their obtuseness.

An exile and an outcast, a man with no social identity, Diogenes made a mark on his contemporaries.

He criticized Plato, disputed his interpretation of Socrates, and sabotaged his lectures, sometimes distracting listeners by bringing food and eating during the discussions.

Diogenes sustained that all the artificial growths of society were incompatible with happiness and that morality implies a return to the simplicity of nature.

He became notorious for his philosophical stunts, such as carrying a lamp during the day, claiming to be looking for a man (often rendered in English as "looking for an honest man").

He modelled himself on the example of Heracles, and believed that virtue was better revealed in action than in theory.

There are conflicting accounts of Diogenes' death. His contemporaries alleged he had held his breath until he expired;

… other accounts say he had become ill from eating raw octopus.

Diogenes was also noted for having mocked Alexander the Great, both in public and to his face when he visited Corinth in 336 BC.

Plato once described Diogenes as “a Socrates gone mad.”

Gheghe passed away a week after this picture was taken, during the second Italian lockdown (for covid19). His body was found floating in the canal of Giudecca on the morning of March 25th, very near the bench where he used to sit. An article appeared in the local news:

Venezia, annegato in laguna l’artista-clochard che vendeva cuori colorati
(Italian - translated: Venice, found drowned the homeless-artist who sold colored hearts)