In Search of an Honest Man

In Search of an Honest Man

BY ADRIAN VRETTOS

ONE of my all-time heroes is Diogenes the Cynic, who spent most of his life chilling in his barrel outside the city-state of Corinth . He was the original Cynic because he believed that men and women lived a life dictated by rules and taboos and therefore no one was really truthful or honest. Actually Diogenes is my hero because he was witty, rude, and had little respect for authority. For example, when Alexander the Great rode down to visit Diogenes in his barrel, he offered Diogenes any gift of his choice. With a scowl, Diogenes snapped back his response: "What you've taken away, you can never give me."   "Huh?" said Alex.   "You're standing in my sun."   What most people know about Diogenes is that he wandered around ancient Greece carrying a lantern and searching for an honest man. In Plaka you can find the figures of him and his lantern and Rataplan, his mangy mutt. What most people don't know is why he went searching for an honest man when he believed, as a Cynic, that there was no such person.