Krates of Thebes

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This representation on a wall painting from the 1st century that was found on the grounds of Villa Farnesina is interpreted by some researchers as one of the Krates and Hipparchia couple.

Krates von Thebes ( ancient Greek Κράτης Krátēs , Latinized Crates Thebanus ; * probably around 365 BC in Thebes ; † probably around 285 BC in Boeotia ) was an ancient Greek philosopher . He is counted among the cynics .

Krates' writings are lost. Only a few fragments of his poems and some ancient accounts of his life and work have survived.

Life

The lifetime of the crate is only roughly known; it is usually set at around 365 to 285 BC. Chr. One author states that Krates' heyday was the 113th Olympiad (which took place between 328 and 325 BC) and reports that Krates died very old in Boeotia. He came from a wealthy Theban family and is said to have been hunchbacked.

Allegedly, the fate of the impoverished wandering King Telephos, shown in a tragedy, made such an impression on Krates that he then gave away his inherited fortune (200 talents ) to his fellow citizens and also began to lead an undemanding life. According to another report, he did not give his fortune away, but deposited it with a banker who should give it to his children if they wanted to become ordinary citizens. But in the event that they also decide to become philosophers, everything should be distributed among the people. It is possible that by the time these anecdotes take place, Krates was already familiar with the doctrine and way of life of Diogenes von Sinope , who advocated needlessness and independence from external constraints. In any case, Krates later moved to Athens and became one of the Cynic's students. However , it is questionable whether he was also a student of Stilpon's and a certain Bryson of Achaia , as is reported .

A story passed down by various authors is probably invented, according to which Krates, when asked by Alexander the Great whether he should rebuild the hometown of Krates, which he had destroyed, replied: “What's the point? Maybe another Alexander will destroy it again. "

Krates was married to the philosopher Hipparchia . She is said to have heard of Krates' teachings and way of life (presumably through her brother Metrokles ) in her hometown Maroneia and fell in love with him from afar. She then decided to give up her comfortable life and marry Krates. Hipparchia's parents refused to do this, and as she threatened suicide, they let Krates come to Maroneia, who is said to have actually tried to dissuade Hipparchia from her plan. But since he did not succeed, he is said to have undressed and Hipparchia made the condition to adopt his Cynical way of life. Hipparchia agreed and so it came to the proverbial "dog marriage" ( kynogamía ). From then on, Krates and Hipparchia are said to have wandered around in the typically simple Cynical costume, ate in public (which was unusual at the time) and even had sexual intercourse in public. They had at least one son named Pasikles, whom Krates is said to have taken to a brothel when he came of manhood to show him what kind of marriage his father was leading.

The most famous student of Krates' was the stoic Zenon von Kition , other students were (partly not entirely sure) Kleanthes , Monimos , Metrokles and Bion von Borysthenes .

The character of Krates is said to have been milder and more amiable than his teacher Diogenes of Sinope. As a welcome guest, he is said to have received the nickname “door opener” ( Thyrepanoíktēs ). His way of life was the simple, independent, and superfluous needs of the typical Cynic. Since several contemporary comedy poets had him appear as a character, it can be assumed that he was a well-known personality at the time.

Teaching

Krates held views similar to those of his teacher Diogenes of Sinope. In order to become happy, it is necessary to free oneself from all superfluous needs and external constraints.

According to the ancient reports, Krates' work consisted mainly of poetry, but also of tragedies (probably parodic ) and a script called Household Book ( Hephēmerís ). The poems are mentioned by two authors under the collective title Spielereien ( Paígnia ) and once under the title Satires ( satirae ). Another traditional title is that of a hymn to simplicity ( Hymnos eis tḕn Eutéleian ). The letters that have survived under his name were certainly written by other authors later.

Fragments of poems in the verse forms hexameters , elegiac distiches and iambic trimeters have been preserved . In these fragments, Krates often used passages from the then well-known authors (such as Homers ), which he parodistically rephrased in such a way as to bring the reader closer to Cynical teachings. An example of its content is the juxtaposition of senseless philosophizing with the respectable simple life, for example of a shoemaker. Another the ideal Cynic state called Pere (satchel). In this there is unpretentiousness, peacefulness and contentment; In contrast to Plato's and Euhemeros 'utopian-otherworldly state structures, Krates' state can be realized by each individual for himself. In another fragment, words of the legislator Solon are parodied, who once asked the muses for prosperity and fortune. In his parody, however, Krates asks for food for his stomach, rejects wealth and instead wants to participate in justice.

Another fragment of the poem jokingly urges you to spend more money on cooks, flatterers and prostitutes than on doctors, advisers and philosophers. Krates is also considered an early exponent of cosmopolitanism and is said to have said: “My fatherland is not a fortress, not a roof, but every city and every house on earth is available to me to live in.” Like Antisthenes and Diogenes of Sinope before is also said to have made Herakles his mythical leading figure.

Portraits

Jusepe de Ribera: Krates von Thebes, oil painting 1636

A representation of a cynic (with the typical attributes of a stick and bag) and a woman with a chest on her head was interpreted by Heinrich Fuhrmann , whom other researchers followed in this assumption, as a representation of the krat and his wife Hipparchia. The mural from the 1st century was found on the site of a Roman villa near Villa Farnesina in Rome and is now in the Thermenmuseum in Rome. Due to its similarity to the Roman wall painting, Fuhrmann also interpreted a herm as a portrait of the Krates. This portrait (inventory number 6162) kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples is one of four found replicas of a lost Greek original.

Portraits created in modern times, such as that of the Spanish painter Jusepe de Ribera from 1636, have nothing to do with the ancient tradition.

Lore

The two most important sources on Krates are the extensive information in a book by the third-century historian Diogenes Laertios and in the Byzantine lexicon Suda from the 9th century. Otherwise, the ancient reports on Krates are comparatively numerous. As cited by some ancient authors, fragments of Krates poems have survived. Collected in the respective original language, there is an edition by Gabriele Giannantoni ; Hermann Diels was the first to collect the fragments of the poems . A selection of passages by the Cynics translated into German was published by Georg Luck .

Source collections and text editions

expenditure

  • Hermann Diels (Ed.): Poetarum philosophorum fragmenta , Berlin 1909, pp. 207-223 (fragments of the poems).
  • Gabriele Giannantoni (ed.): Socratis et Socraticorum Reliquiae , Volume 2, Bibliopolis, Naples 1990, ISBN 88-7088-215-2 , pp. 523-575 ( online ).

Translations

literature

Web links

Commons : Krates von Theben  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ a b c d Klaus Döring: Krates and Hipparchia . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 297–302, here p. 297.
  2. ^ A b Diogenes Laertios, On the life and teachings of famous philosophers 6,87.
  3. ^ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 6,98.
  4. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Life and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 6:85; 6.87.
  5. ^ Julian , 6th speech, 201b; Apuleius , Florida 14; Diogenes Laertios, On the life and teachings of famous philosophers 6.92.
  6. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 6:88.
  7. ^ Klaus Döring: Krates and Hipparchia . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 297–302, here p. 298.
  8. ^ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 6,93.
  9. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the life and teachings of famous philosophers 6: 96-97; Sextus Empiricus , Pyrrhoneiai hypotyposeis 1,153; Clement of Alexandria , Stromata 4,19,121,6.
  10. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 6:88.
  11. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 6,105.
  12. ^ Klaus Döring: Krates and Hipparchia . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 297–302, here p. 299.
  13. ^ Julian, 6th speech 201b.
  14. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 6:86.
  15. ^ A b Klaus Döring: Krates and Hipparchia . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 297–302, here p. 300.
  16. ^ Klaus Döring: Krates and Hipparchia . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 297–302, here p. 302.
  17. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 6.98.
  18. ^ Diogenes Laertios, Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 6,85; Julian, speeches 6,199a.
  19. ↑ Apuleius, Florida 20.
  20. ↑ Julian, speeches 6,199a.
  21. ↑ The paragraph follows Klaus Döring: Krates und Hipparchia . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 297–302, here pp. 300–301.
  22. ↑ The paragraph follows Klaus Döring: Krates und Hipparchia . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity. Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 297-302, here pp. 301-302.
  23. ^ Heinrich Fuhrmann: Conversations about love and marriage in pictures of antiquity . In: Communications of the German Archaeological Institute, Roman Department . Volume 55, 1940, pp. 78-91, here pp. 86-91.
  24. ↑ Inv. 1209. See Irene Bragantini, Mariett de Vos: Le decorazione della villa romana della Farnesina. (= Museo Nazionale Romano. II: Le pitture. Volume 1) Rome 1982, pp. 93–94, plate 29.
personal data
SURNAME Krates of Thebes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Crates Thebanus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION ancient Cynic philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH around 365 BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH uncertain: Thebes
DATE OF DEATH around 285 BC Chr.
Place of death Boeotia