Quit blocking my sun, would 'ya please

in #greek-trail6 years ago

Maybe you bots are getting just a little weary

of all those shots from Loutraki

looking across the Gulf towards the city of Corinth

that I've been posting these last many months.

Well, then, calm yourselves

because here I am in Corinth

and the view is back the other way.....

across the Gulf towards Loutraki!

Corinth6-20180208_145247.jpg

black-line-divider-clipart-divider-clip-art-9000_2500.jpg

Can you guess who are those fine specimens behind me?

Yup, you guessed it!

That's the old Cynic, Diogenes

(who lived in a barrel LOL)

220px-Diogenes_and_Alexander_by_Lovis_Corinth.jpg
image: en.wikipedia.org

telling the pompous young Alexander the Great

220px-Alexander_visits_Diogenes_at_Corinth_by_W._Matthews_(1914).jpg
image: en.wikipedia.org

to get the f*** out of the way

and quit blocking his f'ing sunshine!

black-line-divider-clipart-divider-clip-art-9000_2500.jpg

Some of the interesting things I've learned since having my interest piqued yesterday when I discovered this memorial of the famous meeting between Diogenes and Alexander, in Corinth, so many centuries ago:

  • as a young man, Diogenes worked for his father, Hicesias who was a bank(st)er
  • the two of them got busted for debasing the coinage (adding more and more base metal
    to the silver denarius coin was probably one of the major contributing factors
    to the fall of the Roman civilization some centuries later)
  • apparently the shock of his fall in stature was enough to goose the young Diogenes
    into a much more philosophical lifestyle. He became probably the first of the "Cynics"
  • Diogenes spent time as a general "pain in the ass" on the Athens philosophy scene,
    harassing other established philosophers such as Plato and Socrates
  • he became known for eschewing pleasure, eating and drinking wherever he chose
    (such as in the marketplace where it was taboo), and masturbating in public.
  • he also became known for stunts, one of which ws to carry a lamp around with him
    in the daytime and saying he was "looking for an honest man"

DiogenesHonestMan170px-Diogenes-statue-Sinop-enhanced.jpg
image: en.wikipedia.org

  • later, Diogenes was captured by pirates, sold into slavery, and ended
    up in Corinth (across the gulf from me LOL)
  • when Alexander the Great stopped in Corinth on his way
    to conquering the world, he asked to meet the famous cynic Diogenes
  • Alexander reportedly asked Diogenes if there was anything he could do for him.
    Diogenes responded that he could step aside and quit blocking his sunshine!
  • Alexander is reported to then have said to his followers:
    "If I were not Alexander, then I should wish to be Diogenes."

220px-Waterhouse-Diogenes.jpg
Diogenes Sheltering in his Barrel
by John William Waterhouse

black-line-divider-clipart-divider-clip-art-9000_2500.jpg

ouzo and out,
@onceuponatime
(who, if he were not onceuponatime, would surely wish to be @twiceuponatime)

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Ο Αλέξανδρος δεν θα μπορούσε να γίνει ποτέ Διογένης γιατί ο Διογένης δεν ήταν κατακτητής άλλα δάσκαλος δεν φοβόταν τίποτε αφού είχε ξεπεράσει τον εγωισμό του να θέλει να δείχνει πως είναι κάποιος μεγάλος άνδρας.
Αυτό έκανε τον Διογένη έναν υπέροχο δάσκαλο.
Χαίρομε που αναφέρεστε στο Διογένη , διότι είναι ο αγαπημένος μου και είναι από αυτούς που δεν άφησαν γραπτό λόγο αλλά αναφέρετε μέσα από τα γραπτά άλλων .

Alexander could never have been Diogenis because Diogenes was not a conqueror, but a teacher.
He was not afraid of anything since he had overcome his selfishness.
That is what makes Diogenes a wonderful teacher.
I really like that you mention Diogenis because he is one of my favorites and he haven't left any written material but we know him by mentions of others .

I guess that it is really hard to know what he actually taught since we weren't there and we no longer have any of his own writings. I suspect that he was what they call in the East a "crazy wisdom" guru.

It's true, but from what we know while he was selling himself as a slave to rich people for heavy duty jobs, he was becoming a teacher and advisor of their kids and families. When he was feeling bored or feeling that his purpose there have ended, he was leaving and start looking for a new "boss" by selling himself as a slave again.He never had a "Boss" and that means, my personal opinion, that he was deeply connected with God and existence.

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Nice to see you! Its the first time for me!!
Thanks for supporting me too @onceuponatime.
~ @bluerocktalk🖖

Thanks for dropping by. I am a fan!

I will @onceuponatime! Thanks for being a fan and supporting me! Are you a Blue Rocker?
https://www.youtube.com/c/BlueRockTalkwithConnieWillis
~ @bluerocktalk🖖

Am I a Blue Rocker? Actually I've never checked to see what color my rocks are :-)

I never heard that story before, but it is a damn fine one.

well you are the Alexander of you own life :)

That I am! But I have still conquered only a portion of my inner world. Much territory to go!

I hope you have spent some really great moments. Keep it up @onceuponatime.

There is even a disease named after him, "Diogenes syndrome" which is an extreme level of self neglect, social withdrawal, apathy and lack of shame! 😁 This is a nice article. Thank you for sharing..

:There is even a disease named after him, "Diogenes syndrome""

I know, eh. I've got it bad.

Ha ha haaa! It can be treated. Only if you want!

That's OK, I'm used to it :-)

U Looks like a gentle man :) in the whole post 😊😊

@onceuponatime
Dont mind have a look on news paper i have edited for you
https://steemit.com/newspaper/@bitcoinist/on-greek-historic-day-publication-of-onceuponatime
hFMfmyTps0-IHn1R5GooXA_r-01.jpeg

haha
Actually, I did not know about Diogenes so thank you for telling me more. In my opinion, he was a badass for sure!
Look what I found on 9gag:

@onceuponatime,
"If I were not Alexander, then I should wish to be Diogenes."
What a great story. The world got different types of men and here today I heard the story of freedom of a man!
When I started reading the article I didn't understand
quit blocking my sunshine
But now I got it! Thank you very much for sharing such a great story and you were at the place that great meet up! For me it's remarkable!

Cheers~

Thank you for reading and taking the time to understand!

@onceuponatime,
Did you learn poetry before? Sometimes I feel your articles are kind of poetry! Anyway I do read, and process before I start my comment :D Hate to be a spammer :D

Cheers~

Great moments you spent.. Alexander has nothing to teach you: he was a cruel, violent egomaniac. You can learn things about how to plan and improvise a battle from his battles, including perseverance (e.g. look at the battle of Tyre). You can learn things about how to lead warriors in repeated battles by force of example (he fought at the front with his soldiers). These aren't the types of lessons useful to anyone other than military historians and, to a lessor extent (since warfare has changed substantially) modern generals. He is hardly a a role model to us but instead proof of vaingloriousness and lack of respect for other humans (he killed his best friend in a drunken rage).

Diogenes is a different case. He viewed himself as above states (like Mos Def apparently), was happy sleeping in a jar, and had no problems criticizing both Alexander and Plato. He was an iconoclast and true to himself. I wouldn't suggest sleeping in a jar, but suspect we all could learn to be more suspicious of authority figures (say, Donald Trump). He disavowed caring about death, got rid of his only bowl when he say a poor boy drinking using his hands, and sounds like a royal pain in the butt to be around, but had a refreshingly simple and honest lifestyle that no one but Indian holy men probably could manage.

Alexander has nothing to teach you

That is certainly not true! Actually you can learn a lot of things, but I will mention what was more important for me.

On his death bed, Alexander summoned his generals and told them his three ultimate wishes:

  1. The best doctors should carry his coffin
  2. The wealth he has accumulated (money, gold, precious stones) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery, and
  3. His hands should be let loose, hanging outside the coffin for all to see.
    One of his generals who was surprised by these unusual requests asked Alexander to explain.

Here is what Alexander the Great had to say:

  1. I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that, in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal
  2. I want the road to be covered with my treasure so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth, stays on earth
  3. I want my hands to swing in the wind, so that people understand that we come to this world empty handed and we leave this world empty handed after the most precious treasure of all is exhausted, and that is TIME.

1200px-The_Death_of_Alexander_the_Great_after_the_painting_by_Karl_von_Piloty_(1886).jpg

Just because Alexander the Great was probably a sociopath doesn't mean that we should not remember him and his achievements. What is admired in a person has varied considerably through the ages and we should not judge the past by the values and morals of today.

"What is admired in a person has varied considerably through the ages and we should not judge the past by the values and morals of today."
That's Wisdom right there!! I am horrified at the tendency today, in the news, academia, films, this PC nonsense where historical figures are held up to today's standards and norms. The arrogance is repulsive. What makes these Puritans so sure that future generations will not do the same to them?

There we go! Alexander and the Donald are misunderstood geniuses :-)

Lord Acton covered this well in his oft repeated quote: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." That covers the Alexanders and Caesars of the past, and the Left, Right, and everything in-between of today. We will always have tyrants as long as half the people support Right wing tyrants, and half support Left wing ones. Abraham Lincoln was considered a tyrant by many Americans in his day, only to be lionized and deified later. Same with FDR. Reagan has been sanitized by the historians, just as George W. Bush, the butcher of Iraq has been. They're all monsters. Partisan politics feeds them.

I withdrew my "consent to be governed" from without long ago :-)

My Ruler is my Conscience which I access by going within. I believe my Conscience to be informed by my Creator.

There is nothing more conducive to Liberty than an honest man with a conscience; one who thinks for himself, and resists the herd instinct. Enjoy your travels and stay safe!
I followed you today based on your refreshing outlook, and the Diogenes post. I inherited this pen and ink of Diogenes in his “barrel” from a great-uncle. Done in 1917, its a copy of the Gerome painting.

Thanks, I think so too.

Why does everyone pick on Donald Trump?

Because he's vulgar and incompetent. Because he's misogynistic, materialistic and short-sighted.

Because he is corrupt and actively encourages nepotism. Because, he's thin-skinned, vain and vindictive. Because, he promotes hatred of immigrants and Muslims and is dividing the US, dangerously, while picking fights with the rest of the world.

And, yet, he might just well be the wake up call we needed:

https://steemit.com/story/@yahialababidi/our-wounds-are-peepholes-to-see-the-world-wound-a-plea-for-global-citizenship

Wow, have you ever been programmed! But I guess it's relaxing to never have to think for yourself.

Hook, line, and sinker.

I’m sorry I had to unfollow you, especially as I admire Greece’s generosity in receiving refugees and their noble, ancient philosophy.

Can you imagine a truly independent thinker, like Diogenes, defending the likes of Trump?

Do you not see the irony that in a post like this you do not understand ‘why everyone is picking on DT?

Because He’s Blocking Our Light!

I have seen interviews with college students in America asking them what they thought of a list of proposals in Bernie Sander's economic package. They all replied that they thought it was "wonderful".

They were then told that they were actually proposals taken from Trump's economic package. LOL

My point is not that Trump is great, or even good. My point is that you have been programmed just like those students in the interview.

Thank you for unfollowing me. I do not enjoy conversing with bots or humans with programmed opinions.

Touche' onceuponatime!!

I’m not a college student, I’m an author of 7 books and, as an immigrant and Muslim living in the Divided States of America, an activist & concerned world citizen.

I urge you to read my personal essay, below, on our wounded world and tell me if you still think I’m programmed:

https://steemit.com/story/@yahialababidi/our-wounds-are-peepholes-to-see-the-world-wound-a-plea-for-global-citizenship

Thank you,
Yahia

I read this:
"Because he's vulgar and incompetent. Because he's misogynistic, materialistic and short-sighted.

Because he is corrupt and actively encourages nepotism. Because, he's thin-skinned, vain and vindictive. Because, he promotes hatred of immigrants and Muslims and is dividing the US, dangerously, while picking fights with the rest of the world."

by you.

For you to say this about someone you have never met, taking your opinions pre-formed from manipulative, agenda driven media (or other even more nefarious sources), tells me much more about you than him. In fact, it tells me nothing about him. It is pretty well a meaningless rant. But it does tell me that, since you call him "incompetent", which by any definition of the word I know he clearly is not, you and I do not share a common language and it would be a tragic waste of my time to read your writings.

you only hate trump because of media.. if you were told to suck his dick you would.

@yahialabadidi
Your rant is unoriginal, required no thought, and could have been copied and pasted from a thousand different articles in a hundred different languages. For such a spiritual person you sure carry a lot of hate brother. The spiritual man transcends, the petty man descends......into the cacophony of the zeitgeist.

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