Crates of Thebes
Hellenistic · Europe · 365 to 285 BCE
Greek Cynic who gave up his fortune to live a Cynic life.
What it is
Crates of Thebes was a Greek Cynic philosopher who was active in the fourth century BCE. Tradition holds that he was a pupil of Diogenes of Sinope, the best-known Cynic, and he is remembered for giving up a large fortune so that he could live the plain, open life the Cynics taught.
He is also remembered for the people around him. He shared his life with Hipparchia, who lived as he did, and he taught Zeno of Citium, who went on to found Stoicism.
The main ideas
- Giving things up on purpose. Crates got rid of his considerable wealth in order to become a Cynic and to live a life of poverty.
- Teaching in the open. For Crates the streets of Athens were the place for both teaching and training, and he is described as living in poverty there.
- Mockery in verse. He had a gift for amusing parody of serious poetry. By turning solemn verse to Cynic ends he praised the Cynic way of living.
- Philosophy as a way of living. What he taught was a manner of life, set out in his own example and in poems and philosophical dramas, more than a theory to be learned.
What it looks like in practice
Picture someone who has been saving for years for things they are told they need, and who tries living for a month without half of them. In the spirit of Crates, the question would be what they still miss, and what they discover they never needed. This is an illustration of the Cynic practice, not a story from his life.
People and texts
- Diogenes of Sinope. The teacher Crates is linked to. The exact relationship between the two is not certain.
- Hipparchia. She came from a wealthy family and was the sister of Metrocles, one of Crates' pupils. She turned away from that background to share Crates' life and teaching.
- Zeno of Citium. Crates taught Zeno, who is said to have admired him greatly.
- Poems and plays. He was said to have written philosophical dramas and short poems. A full biography by Plutarch has not survived.
Questions and criticism
- How much do we really know? Much of what we have about him comes from later writers, and the Plutarch biography that might have helped is lost. His link to Diogenes is described only as tradition.
- Is giving things up a gift or a show? It is fair to ask whether a rich man who walks away from his money is freed by it or is making a statement. The sources describe the choice but do not settle its meaning.
- What does mockery teach? Making fun of other thinkers in verse can open a subject up, and it can also close a conversation. The sources leave open how Crates meant it to be taken.
Close neighbours
The pages on Diogenes and Antisthenes are the nearest, since they stand before him in the line of Cynic teachers. The page on Zeno of Citium shows what his best-known pupil did with what he learned.
Written by epchē in our own words, and checked against independent sources on 29 October 2026. The sources are listed below.
Philosophies they belong to or are close to
Other Hellenistic thinkers
- Antisthenes · 445 to 365 BCE
- Diogenes of Sinope · 412 to 323 BCE
- Pyrrho of Elis · 360 to 270 BCE
- Epicurus · 341 to 270 BCE
- Zeno of Citium · 334 to 262 BCE
- Cleanthes · 331 to 232 BCE
- Chrysippus · 279 to 206 BCE
- Carneades · 214 to 129 BCE
- Cicero · 106 to 43 BCE
- Lucretius · 99 to 55 BCE
Sources we used
- Cynics · Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, read on 29 October 2026
- Crates of Thebes · Encyclopaedia Britannica, read on 29 October 2026
- Crates of Thebes · Wikipedia, read on 29 October 2026