Demonax ( el, Δημώναξ, ''Dēmōnax'', ''

gen Gen may refer to: * ''Gen'' (film), 2006 Turkish horror film directed by Togan Gökbakar * Gen (Street Fighter), a video game character from the ''Street Fighter'' series * Gen Fu, a video game character from the ''Dead or Alive'' series * Gen l ...

''.: Δημώνακτος; c. AD 70 – c. 170) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Cynic philosopher. Born in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, he moved to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, where his

wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowle ...

, and his skill in solving disputes, earned him the admiration of the citizens. He taught Lucian, who wrote a ''Life of Demonax'' in praise of his teacher. When he died he received a magnificent public funeral.

Life

The only source known for the life of Demonax is Lucian, who describes Demonax in glowing terms, in contrast to the disreputable Cynics whom Lucian reviled. He is not mentioned by any other contemporary writer. He is mentioned in the 5th century by

Eunapius Eunapius ( el, Εὐνάπιος; fl. 4th–5th century AD) was a Greek sophist and historian of the 4th century AD. His principal surviving work is the ''Lives of Philosophers and Sophists'' ( grc-gre, Βίοι Φιλοσόφων καὶ Σο� ...

, but only because he knows of him from Lucian's work. It is possible, therefore, that Demonax is a character invented by Lucian. There are, however, some sayings attributed to Demonax found in anthologies compiled by later writers which are not found in Lucian's work. Demonax was born c. 70 AD, in

, where he belonged to an influential family.Lucian, ''Demonax'', 3 He was led by a love of philosophy to become a philosopher. He was taught by the best philosophers of the day, including Agathobulus,

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumi ...

, and

Epictetus Epictetus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκτητος, ''Epíktētos''; 50 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, in western Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, when ...

. He eventually moved to

, where he seems initially to have offended the citizens,Lucian, ''Demonax'', 11 but eventually he came to be regarded with reverence for his resolute character:

To a natural impulse towards the good, an innate yearning for philosophy which manifested itself in childish years, that he owed his superiority to all the things that ordinary men pursue. He took independence and candour for his guiding principles, lived himself an upright, wholesome, irreproachable life, and exhibited to all who saw or heard him the model of his own disposition and philosophic sincerity.

He is described as a peace-maker, able to bring harmony between husband and wife, and to solve disputes between brothers. Lucian compares him to both

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

and

Diogenes Diogenes ( ; grc, Διογένης, Diogénēs ), also known as Diogenes the Cynic (, ) or Diogenes of Sinope, was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism (philosophy). He was born in Sinope, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea ...

, and when Demonax was asked which philosophers he preferred, he is said to have replied, "I admire them all; Socrates I revere, Diogenes I admire, Aristippus I love."Lucian, ''Demonax'', 62 When Demonax was once asked why he never sacrificed to

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...

, he replied, "he did not sacrifice to Athena, because she could not want his offerings." Similarly, he avoided initiation into the

Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are th ...

, saying, "if the mysteries were bad, no one ought to be initiated; if good, they should be divulged to everybody." He apparently lived to be nearly a hundred, by which time the Athenians loved him dearly:

Not Athens only, but all Greece was so in love with him that as he passed the great would give him place and there would be a general hush. Towards the end of his long life he would go uninvited into the first house that offered, and there get his dinner and his bed, the household regarding it as the visit of some heavenly being which brought them a blessing. When they saw him go by, the baker-wives would contend for the honour of supplying him, and a happy woman was the actual donor. Children too used to call him father, and bring him offerings of fruit.

He was said to have died (c. 170 AD) by starving himself, and the Athenians gave him a magnificent public funeral. The crater Demonax on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

is named after him. Demonax is also a genus of longicorn beetles (

Cerambycidae The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than ...

), characterised in part by possessing several spines on their antennae.

Lucian's ''Life of Demonax''

Most of Lucian's account of Demonax is filled with pithy sayings in order to illustrate Demonax's wit. Long lists of anecdotes (known as '' chreia''), were often collected concerning philosophers, especially Cynic philosophers, in order to demonstrate their character and wit:

When he once had a winter voyage to make, a friend asked how he liked the thought of being capsized and becoming food for fishes. "I should be very unreasonable to mind giving them a meal, considering how many they have given me."

To a rhetorician who had given a very poor declamation he recommended constant practice. "Why, I am always practising to myself," said the man. "Ah, that accounts for it; you are accustomed to such a foolish audience."

When someone asked him who he thinks as a truly happy man, he replied "the truly happy man is the free man. I'm talking about the one who neither hopes nor fears anything."Lucian, ''Demonax'', 19-20

Notes

External links

* * *
''Life of Demonax'', in Works of Lucian Vol. III
* Fuentes González, Pedro Pablo, �
Le Démonax de Lucien entre réalité et fiction
��, ''Prometheus'' 35 (2), 2009, p. 139-158. {{DEFAULTSORT:Demonax 2nd-century philosophers 2nd-century Athenians Ancient Cypriots Roman-era Cynic philosophers 70 births 170 deaths Roman-era philosophers in Athens