Editing Crates of Thebes (section)

==Life==
Crates was born c. 365&nbsp;BC<ref>His year of birth is uncertain.  He flourished c. 328–5 BC ([[Olympiad]] 113) according to Diogenes {{harvnb|Laërtius|1925c|loc=§ 87}}, 365 BC is a reasonable guess for his year of birth.</ref> in [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]]. He was the son of Ascondus, and was the heir to a large fortune, which he is said to have renounced to live a life of Cynic poverty in [[Athens]]. [[Diogenes Laërtius]]{{sfn|Laërtius|1925c|loc=§ 87–88}} preserves several different accounts of this story; one of them has Crates giving his money away to the citizens of Thebes, apparently after seeing the beggar king [[Telephus]] in a tragedy; whereas another account has him placing his money in the hands of a banker, with the agreement that he should deliver it to his sons, unless they too became philosophers, in which case he should distribute it among the poor.<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Crates (philosophers)|display=Crates|volume=7|page=381}}</ref>

He moved to Athens where tradition says he became a pupil of [[Diogenes of Sinope]]; the precise relationship between Crates and Diogenes is uncertain, but there is one apparent reference to Crates referring to himself as "a fellow-citizen of Diogenes, who defied all the plots of envy".{{sfn|Laërtius|1925c|loc=§ 93}} Crates is also described as being the student of [[Bryson of Achaea|Bryson the Achaean]],{{sfn|Laërtius|1925c|loc=§ 85}} and of [[Stilpo]].<ref>Seneca, ''Epistles'', 10.1</ref>  He lived a life of cheerful simplicity, and [[Plutarch]], who wrote a detailed biography of Crates which does not survive, records what sort of man Crates was:
{{blockquote|But Crates with only his wallet and tattered cloak laughed out his life jocosely, as if he had been always at a festival.<ref name="plut1">Plutarch, ''Moralia: On the Tranquillity of the Mind''.</ref>}}
He is said to have been deformed with a lame leg and hunched shoulders.<ref>Julian, ''Orations'', 6.201b.</ref> He was nicknamed the Door-Opener ({{langx|el|θυρεπανοίκτης}})<ref>Plutarch, ''Symposiacs'', 2.1.</ref> because he would enter any house and people would receive him gladly and with honour:
{{blockquote|He used to enter the houses of his friends, without being invited or otherwise called, in order to reconcile members of a family, even if it was apparent that they were deeply at odds. He would not reprove them harshly, but in a soothing way, in a manner which was non-accusatory towards those whom he was correcting, because he wished to be of service to them as well as to those who were just listening.<ref>{{cite book |contributor=Julian |contribution=Orations, 6.201b |first=G. |last=Reale |year=1980 |title=The Concept of First Philosophy and the Unity of the Metaphysics of Aristotle |page=34 |publisher=Suny Press}}. See also Apuleius, ''Florida'', xiv, who makes a similar statement.</ref>}}

[[Image:Crates and Hipparchia Villa Farnesina.jpg|thumb|Roman wall painting of Crates and Hipparchia from the [[Villa Farnesina]], [[Rome]]. Crates is shown with a staff and satchel, being approached by Hipparchia bearing her possessions in the manner of a potential bride.<ref>Diskin Clay, ''Picturing Diogenes'', in R. Bracht Branham, Marie-Odile Goulet-Cazé, (2000), ''The Cynics: The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy'', pp. 372–73.</ref>]]
He attracted the attentions of [[Hipparchia of Maroneia]], the sister of one of Crates' students, [[Metrocles]]. Hipparchia is said to have fallen in love with Crates and with his life and teachings, and thus rejecting her wealthy upbringing in a manner similar to Crates, she married him. The marriage was remarkable (for ancient Athens) for being based on mutual respect and equality between the couple.  Stories about Hipparchia appearing in public everywhere with Crates are mentioned precisely because respectable women did not behave in that way, and as part of Cynic shamelessness, they had sexual intercourse in public.<ref>[[Sextus Empiricus]] ''Outlines of Pyrrhonism'' Book I section 153</ref>  They had at least two children, a girl, and a boy named Pasicles.  We learn that Crates is supposed to have initiated his son into sex by taking him to a brothel,{{sfn|Laërtius|1925c|loc=§ 88}} and he allowed his daughter a month's trial marriage to potential suitors.{{sfn|Laërtius|1925c|loc=§ 93}}

He was the teacher of [[Zeno of Citium]] in the last years of the century,<ref>{{harvnb|Laërtius|1925|loc=§ 15}}; {{harvnb|Laërtius|1925d|loc=§ 105}}; {{harvnb|Laërtius|1925e|loc=§ 2}}, etc.</ref> and was undoubtedly the biggest influence on Zeno in his development of [[Stoicism|Stoic]] philosophy.  Zeno always regarded Crates with the greatest respect, and some of the accounts we have of Crates have probably come down to us via Zeno's writings.{{sfn|Laërtius|1925c|loc=§ 91}} His other pupils included [[Metrocles]],{{sfn|Laërtius|1925c|loc=§ 94}} [[Monimus]],{{sfn|Laërtius|1925b|loc=§ 82}} [[Menippus]],<ref name="pupils">{{harvnb|Laërtius|1925c|loc=§ 95}}  The list of pupils at vi. 95 are at the end of the Life of Metrocles, but probably refer to Crates. Cf. R. Bracht Branham, Marie-Odile Goulet-Cazé, (2000), ''The Cynics: The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy'', pp. 392, 398; pointing out that, Diogenes {{harvnb|Laërtius|1925c|loc=§ 98}}, also returns to the biography of Crates.</ref> [[Cleomenes the Cynic|Cleomenes]],<ref name="pupils"/> [[Theombrotus]],<ref name="pupils"/> and Crates' brother [[Pasicles of Thebes|Pasicles]].<ref>Suda, ''Stilpo''</ref> He may also have taught [[Cleanthes]],<ref>The ''[[Suda]]'' (''Cleanthes'') is the only source for this claim.</ref> Zeno's successor as head of the Stoic school.

Crates was, apparently, in Thebes in 307&nbsp;BC, when [[Demetrius Phalereus]] was exiled there.<ref>Plutarch, ''Moralia: How to know a Flatterer from a Friend''.</ref> He is said to have died at a great age (c. 285&nbsp;BC), and was buried in [[Boeotia]].{{sfn|Laërtius|1925c|loc=§ 98}}