Cleomenes (; grc-gre, Κλεομένης; fl. c. 300 BCE) was a Cynic philosopher. He was a pupil of

Crates of Thebes Crates ( grc-gre, Κράτης ὁ Θηβαῖος; c. 365 – c. 285 BC) of Thebes was a Greek Cynic philosopher, the principal pupil of Diogenes of Sinope and the husband of Hipparchia of Maroneia who lived in the same manner as him. Cr ...

, and is said to have taught Timarchus of Alexandria and Echecles of Ephesus, the latter of whom would go on to teach

Menedemus Menedemus of Eretria ( grc-gre, Μενέδημος ὁ Ἐρετριεύς; 345/44 – 261/60 BC) was a Greek philosopher and founder of the Eretrian school. He learned philosophy first in Athens, and then, with his friend Asclepiades, he subseq ...

. He wrote a work on ''Pedagogues'' () from which Diogenes Laërtius has preserved an anecdote concerning

Diogenes of Sinope 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 ...

:Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 75

Cleomenes in his work on ''Pedagogues'' says that Diogenes' friends wanted to ransom him, for which he called them simpletons, for, he said, lions are not the slaves of those who feed them, but rather those who feed them are at the mercy of the lions, Fear, he added, is the mark of the slave, whereas wild beasts make human beings afraid of them.

The importance of this anecdote is that it is an early reference to the story of Diogenes being captured by pirates and being sold into

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, lending credence to the idea that the story may well be true.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleomenes the Cynic 3rd-century BC Greek people 3rd-century BC philosophers Cynic philosophers Hellenistic-era philosophers