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Diogenes sold as a slave

by 323 BCE, Crete. As Diogenes Laertius tells it, centuries later.

Where and when

by 323 BCECrete

about 2,348 years ago

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Diogenes

, CreteAs Diogenes Laertius tells it, centuries later

In plain words, ours

At the auction, asked what he was good at, he said: ruling people. Then he pointed at a man in a fine purple-bordered robe: sell me to him, he needs a master.

When the auctioneer asked in what he was proficient, he replied, In ruling men. Thereupon he pointed to a certain Corinthian with a fine purple border to his robe, the man named Xeniades above-mentioned, and said, Sell me to this man; he needs a master.

Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 6.74Translated by R. D. Hicks (1925)Read the full passage (Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 6.74, opens scaife.perseus.org)

What was going on, our summary

Diogenes Laertius, writing centuries later, says Diogenes was captured by pirates on a voyage to Aegina, taken to Crete and put up for sale as a slave. His buyer, Xeniades, later put him in charge of his children and household in Corinth.

Checked claim by claim against: the passage around the quote.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. 323 BCE0.5 years earlier Alexander dies in Babylon Same years
  2. c. 324–321 BCEDuring it Diogenes the Cynic dies in Corinth Same years
  3. by 323 BCEThis momentDiogenes sold as a slave
  4. by 323 BCEBy this year Diogenes throws away his cup More from Diogenes
  5. by 323 BCEBy this year Diogenes searches for a man with a lamp More from Diogenes
  6. by 323 BCEBy this year Diogenes makes a tub his home More from Diogenes
  7. 322 BCE1 year later Aristotle dies at Chalcis Same years

Just before and after

The text around the quote, word for word from the same translation.

Show the passageHide the passage

This he makes plain in the Thyestes, if the tragedies are really his and not the work of his friend Philiscus of Aegina or of Pasiphon, the son of Lucian, who according to Favorinus in his Miscellaneous History wrote them after the death of Diogenes. He held that we should neglect music, geometry, astronomy, and the like studies, as useless and unnecessary. He became very ready also at repartee in verbal debates, as is evident from what has been said above. Further, when he was sold as a slave, he endured it most nobly. For on a voyage to Aegina he was captured by pirates under the command of Scirpalus, conveyed to Crete and exposed for sale.

The quote: When the auctioneer asked in what he was proficient, he replied, In ruling men. Thereupon he pointed to a certain Corinthian with a fine purple border to his robe, the man named Xeniades above-mentioned, and said, Sell me to this man; he needs a master.

Thus Xeniades came to buy him, and took him to Corinth and set him over his own children and entrusted his whole household to him. And he administered it in all respects in such a manner that Xeniades used to go about saying, A good genius has entered my house.

Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 6.73–74Translated by R. D. Hicks (1925)Read the full passage (opens scaife.perseus.org)

When, and whose words

Date
by 323 BCE. Undated; before Diogenes' death (323 BCE, as commonly given). Diogenes Laertius wrote around the 3rd century CE.
Whose words
As Diogenes Laertius tells it, centuries later.
How this post was checked
  • The plain-words line was read against the quote alone by a second, independent pass, which found it adds no claim the quote does not make (2026-10-03).
  • Each claim in the summary was checked by an independent pass against only the material it cites.
  • The quote itself is checked by the build: word for word, once, at the cited section of the stored translation.

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