1
Diet, nature and health in the ancient Greek culture. Hippocratic dietetics and ancient
Cynicism.
Abstract: This paper analyzes the complex relationship established between dietetics
and ancient Cynic philosophers. It focuses on the way ancient Cynicism could address the
subject of the healthy life in a socio-cultural milieu marked by the specialization and
increasing recognition of medicine as an independent area of knowledge. In the first section,
it provides a summary of the recent scholarship concerning medical anthropology and how it
may be adapted to the study of the ancient Greek medical thinking. It also argues that the
Cynic movement shares significant parallelisms with the one of other historical counter-
cultural movements. In particular, Cynic discourse on food and health has a complex
relationship with the Hippocratic approaches on this subject. The common dominant symbols
that shape the discourse on food and health in Hippocratic dietetics and the Cynic
philosophy are therefore explored and compared in the following section of this article.
Finally, the last section focuses on the differences between the Hippocratic dietetic practice
and the Cynic discourses on health, nature, and food.
1. Introduction.
Ancient Greek medicine and philosophy have been widely recognized as some of the
most interesting intellectual phenomena of the ancient Mediterranean cultures, and they are
undoubtedly among the most persistent aspects of the classical world. Greek postulates
regarding the functioning of the human body or the nature of the human soul have determined
Western medicine and philosophy for centuries in a similar way classical aesthetics defined
art and culture
1
. Nevertheless, the history of the relationship between these two important
pillars of the later European culture is not a smooth one. The interactions between them are
some of the most discussed issues in the histories of both, ancient medicine and philosophy
2
.
As Pierre Pellegrin points out, philosophy had a privileged relation to medicine.
Nevertheless, the "strong" status of the latter would give way to a rivalry that takes diverse
forms in the different phases of both, histories of medicine and philosophy
3
. As the design of
the better way of life defined these two areas of knowledge it is unsurprising that some of
their aspects could eventually collide
4
. There are, nevertheless, ample nuances in these
relationships. As Pellegrin argues, to reduce the extremely rich exchanges between these two
disciplines to a mere dual conflict is misleading and an oversimplification of the real,
complex dynamics between them. The struggle between philosophy and medicine ultimately
depends on the particular positions and individual approaches of ancient physicians and
philosophers, and it should not strange us too much to find divergences within a medical or
philosophical school. Maybe the most interesting example regarding a disparity of opinions
concerning the value of philosophical inquiry in medicine is the one provided by the
Hippocratic Corpus. While some treaties, such as On the flesh or On the generation of body,
argue for a philosophical approach to the subject of medicine, others, such as On the ancient
medicine, reject the generalizations typical of the pre-socratic philosophy
5
. On behalf of
ancient philosophers, there are interesting studies regarding the way ancient philosophical
1
Recent works have reassessed the importance of these politics of classical reception in the European
2
The bibliography regarding this subject is extensive. For a modern and general view: Van der Ejik (2005).
Some of the most interesting contributions concerning the relationship between classical medicine and
philosophy: Klippel (1937) Jones (1946) Diller (1952), Edelstein (1952), Lloyd (1975), Vitrac (1989), Longrigg
(1993), Vegetti (1999).
3
Pellegrin (2009a) 664.
4
Pellegrin (2009b).
5
Jouanna (1992) 344-403, Nutton (2004) 115-127.
2
schools, such as Platonism, Aristotelism or Stoicism, engaged with medical thinking and
practice
6
.
In spite of the importance of these works, the scholarly inquiry tends to focus on the
attitudes of the major philosophical and intellectual trends of the Mediterranean antiquity
towards medicine. This paper addresses the question of the complex relationships between
the philosophical and medicinal discourses and practices through the analysis of one of the
“minor” philosophical schools of the ancient Mediterranean world: Cynicism. It argues that a
critical approach concerning Cynic opinions on classical medicine, particularly on
Hippocratic dietetics, may help us to understand the way the ancient medical discourses and
practices were perceived in this intellectual setting. It will also help us to understand how did
ancient Cynic philosophers develop distinct attitudes towards food and health. In doing so, it
stands for a comprehensive study of both, ancient philosophy and medicine, in the socio-
cultural background of classical Greek practices, behaviors and beliefs regarding food and
eating.
2. Ancient and modern discourses on diet, nature and health.
The socio-cultural studies regarding medicine, illness and health have experienced a
significant development over the last decades
7
. The influence of the “cultural turn” and the
critical approaches regarding the sociology of knowledge is undeniable in the deep
transformations lived in the area of the anthropology of medicine
8
. Works such as those of
Byron Good or Arthur Kleinman embody the new trends in this area of knowledge, marked
by the complex analysis of the symbolic networks concerning health and illness in a socio-
cultural context
9
. Following Clifford Geertz´s theoretical outline, medicine is regarded as a
cultural system that derives from and affects the social reality
10
. In a concrete manner, Arthur
Kleinman´s concept of the Health Care System (HCS) deals with the multiple horizons of the
healing process. These may derive from the institutionalized medical knowledge or other
socio-cultural beliefs regarding the nature of the functioning of the human body. In a general
way, the notion of the HCS includes the belief patterns concerning the cause of the diseases,
the mechanisms that rule the selection and evaluation of the therapeutic processes, and the
legitimation of the statuses, roles and power relationships that take place in the social
contexts of healing within a complex human group
11
. Thus, it does not depend only on the
medical knowledge, as it is also deeply embedded in the cultural discourses and practices that
define the collective behaviors and beliefs concerning different areas of the social experience.
Some recent studies have demonstrated that the integration of the HCS conceptual framework
in the wider socio-cultural context is particularly appealing for the critical analysis of ancient
medicine, as issues such as gender relationships, social hierarchies or the dynamics of
intellectual legitimation had a profound impact in the development of the medical discourse
and practice
12
. Medicine provided a rational discourse that sanctioned and naturalized the
integration of these elements in the system of cultural hegemony that shaped the normative
background of ancient Classical societies
13
. The analysis of the perception of medicine on
6
Van der Ejik (2005) 74-100, Jouanna (2009).
7
Martínez Hernáez (2008) 11-44.
8
Regarding the concept of “cultural turn”: Alexander (1988); Jameson (1998). Regarding the sociology of
knowledge: McCarthy (1996).
9
Good (1977); Kleinman (1981); Good (1994).
10
Geertz (1975); Good and DelVecchio Good (2005).
11
Kleinman (1981) 24.
12
Israelowich (2012) 40-44; (2015).
13
Maybe the most interesting case regards the question of gender relationships: Gourevitch (1984); King
(1998).
3
behalf of an intellectual trend that seems to consciously reject the shared patterns of socio-
cultural beliefs and behaviors is, then, an engaging subject.
Ancient Cynicism is one of the most interesting philosophical schools of Greco-
Roman antiquity, although until recently it has been a comparatively understudied
phenomenon in comparison with other philosophical trends
14
. As Donald Dudley wrote in his
classic essay on the history of Cynicism, "To the student of ancient philosophy there is in
Cynicism scarcely more than a rudimentary and debased version of the ethics of Socrates,
which exaggerates his austerity to a fanatic asceticism, hardens his irony to sardonic
laughter at the follies of mankind, and affords no parallel to his genuine love of knowledge…
But to the student of social history, and of ancient thought, as distinct from philosophy, there
is much of interest in Cynicism
15
".
One of the main problems regarding the ancient and modern analysis of the Cynic
movement is that it lacked some of the essential elements that defined other ancient
philosophical schools. Thus, its very same intellectual acceptation as one of them was
frequently challenged in antiquity as well as in contemporary times
16
. Instead of trying to
adapt their behaviors and attitudes to the mechanisms of socio-intellectual recognition of the
mainstream philosophers, ancient Cynics adhered to a loose ensemble of practices that was
regarded as the principle of the renunciation of customs or “defiling the coin” (παραχαράξαι
τὸ νόµισµα)
17
. In a primary performing level, elements such as keeping a traveling bag
(πήρη), the dressing of the single cloak (τρίβων) or the use of the walking staff were among
the most noticeable aspects of the Cynic way of life
18
. As they play with the traditional image
of the wandering beggar, they presented a sharp contrast with the shared codes of social
behavior. In a very particular way, they outline a direct opposition to the way the intellectual
groups construct their identity since the late classical period
19
.
Some contemporary scholars have regarded the ancient Cynic´s extreme non-
conformist thinking and behaviors as examples of counter-cultural attitudes similar to those
developed in the second half of the twentieth century
20
. Indeed, some of the fundamental
elements of the Cynic philosophy, such as his radical naturalism, or primitivism, are similar
to some of the core issues of contemporary counter-cultural movements. This is especially
14
Previous bibliography concerning Cynicism may be consulted in Navia (1995). Recent synthesis
concerning the history and thought of ancient Cynics: Navia (1996), Desmond (2008). Some collective volumes
assessing different aspects of ancient Cynicism contain contributions of great value: Goulet-Cazé and Goulet
(1993); Goulet-Cazé and Branham (1996). Other interesting monographs inquiring into different aspects of
ancient Cynicism: Goulet-Cazé (1986); Navia (1998); Gugliermina (2006); Husson (2011); Goulet-Cazé (2014).
The recent vitality in Cynic studies have a parallelism in modern editions and translations of the classical
sources regarding this philosophical school: Paquet (1975); Giannantoni (1983); Martín García (2008).
15
Dudley (1937) IX.
16
Goulet-Cazé (1993); Gugliermina (2006) 117-164.
17
This idea blends with the biographical anecdote regarding Diogenes´ exile from Sinope: Diog.Laer. 6.20-
1; 38; 56; 71; Luc. Bis.Acc. 24; Demonact. 5; Suda sv. Διογένης; sv. γνῶθι σεαυτόν. Cfr. Iul. Or. 9.187b-188c;
7.208c-d; 211b-d [SSR V B 3-10]. Branham (1996)
18
Diog. Laer. 6.13-15; Sosicr.Hist. FHG 4, p. 403 F 19 [SSR V A 22]; cfr. Diog. Laert. 6.22-3 [SSR V A
174]. Damascus Ep. 5; Diog. Laert. 6.90 [SSR V H 35]; D.Chr. 13.10; Iul. Or. 9.198a-d; Luc. Demon. 16; 19;
41; Peregr. 14-15; Diog. Lart. 6.102 [SSR V N 1]. It is interesting to point out that Sextus Empiricus argued that
precisely the Cynic habits are opposed to the most socialized ones: S.E. P. 153 [SSR V B 164]. The shocking
Cynic behaviours are a vehicle for the spreading of this philosophical school: Bosman (2006). In general:
Desmond (2008) 78-82.
19
The unique features of Diogenes and Antisthenes´ Hellenistic and Roman portraits are analysed in Zanker
(1995) 174-179. For more general regards of the construction of the image of the intellectual since the late
classical period: Loraux and Miralles (1998); Azoulay (2007); Guijarro (2009) 111-132.
20
Penner (1971); Xenakis (1973). Regarding ancient Cynicism and the “crisis” of contemporary cultures:
Sloterdijk (1983). Regarding the definition of counter-culture in contemporary cultural and sociological studies:
Best (1998); Bennett (2014).
4
significant when they concern questions such as nature, health and diet
21
. Food has a central
role in the constitution of counter-cultural movements, in the development of their distinct
identities and their proposals for social, political and cultural transformation. Cooking, eating
and drinking are material metaphors of everything that it is expected, rejected or detested in
human societies. Besides, the display of a cuisine culturally marked as different allows the
articulation of networks of mutual recognition that face those developed in the mainstream
milieu
22
. The success of these particular cuisines is a complex phenomenon that laies both, in
the ideological assumptions of the counter-cultural movements and their integration in a
wide, albeit unorthodox, discourse concerning health and diet. Alternative food practices are
presented as being inherently healthier than those practiced by the rest of the mainstream,
unconsciously poisoned society
23
. In this characterization, counter-cultural groups offer a
somewhat distrustful attitude towards the established scientific or technical paradigms
regarding food and health, overlapping with certain ideas that could be easily depicted as
belonging to the fringe science
24
.
Food had a central importance in the development of the Cynic philosophy and the
construction of the Cynic identity. The particularity of the relationship between food and
cynicism is grounded in the embracement of the most economical and simple foods and the
rejection of the sophisticated dishes that defined high cuisine. Cereal foods, based in barley
rather than wheat, constitute the core of the Cynic menu. Maza, barley gruel, is commonly
regarded as the main aliment of the Cynic philosopher. Alongside other typical humble
elements, such as chickpeas, lentils or lupines, it presents an alternative menu to the
widespread foods that were socially regarded as essential elements in the mainstream cultural
narratives concerning individual and collective identities. The Cynic rejection of these
culturally preferred dishes marked their parallel rejection of the socio-cultural background of
the elitist cuisine and all its messages and discourses concerning comfort, pleasure and
general distinction
25
. But ancient Cynic philosophers also presented their particular food
choices, as well as their continuous physical activity, following an idea of the healthy life that
shared some issues with the dietetic guidelines developed by contemporary physicians.
Ancient dietetics is a complex subject. As Celsus states in the preface of his book On
Medicine, it is one of the three branches of the medical knowledge and practice, and it is even
the one with a greater degree of socio-intellectual legitimation
26
. In spite of that, in many
aspects it lacked a complete inner coherence. Even in a concrete medical tradition, such as
the Hippocratic medicine, there are diverging attitudes towards the precise functions and
properties of foodstuffs and their effects on the human body
27
. Nevertheless, there are some
core principles that conform the main elements of the dietetic thinking, at least from the
21
Cuesta Martínez (2011).
22
Blum (1999); Dylan (2004); Belasco (2007).
23
Belasco (1997) 192-195.
24
Dutch (1982). This concept of “fringe science” must be regarded in the intellectual milieu of the
Mediterranean antiquity, which rarely corresponds with contemporary definitions of science. Barton (1994) 15-
17.
25
Notario (2015b) 589-602.
26
Cels. De Medicina. Proemium 9. In a more general way, regarding the relationship between health and
food in the ancient world: Garnsey (1999) 12-61. Food and the medical thinking: Wilkins and Hill (2006) 213-
244.
27
Herodicus of Selimbria, in the second half of the fifth century BC, seems to have been the first physician
that developed dietetics as an independent branch of the medical knowledge: Pl. R. 406a-c; Anon.Lond. 9.20-33.
Cfr. Hipp. Epid. 6.3.18. There were, nevertheless, previous works that regarded the relationship between health,
food and body (even if, as the author of the Regime in acute diseases argues, they were not especially
interesting: Acut. 2-3; cfr. VM 3). Regarding the history of ancient dietetics: Edelstein (1931); Lonie (1977);
Smith (1980); (1992); Longrigg (1999).
5
Hippocratic point of view
28
. In the first place, there is a general belief concerning the
relativeness of the properties of foodstuffs. The individual foods do not have an inherently
beneficial or harmful nature. Their good or bad effects depend on the nature of the eater, the
balance or imbalance of the humors, the age and genre of the patient, the climate and the
season of the year, etc
29
. In the second place, there is a general idea of searching a balance
between the different elements that compound the human life. The inner balance is achieved
through the mixture of different and sometimes mutually exclusive foods, the direct
correspondence between food, physical exercise and emetics and the harmonious tension
between food repletion and depletion
30
. Finally, cooking is regarded as a complex process
through which the natural properties of food are tamed, mixed or enhanced, making them
suitable for human consumption
31
. As we will see, the Cynic approach towards the question
of food, body and health challenges the theoretical assumptions of Hippocratic dietetics.
Nevertheless, this questioning it is not usually presented as a confrontation with the medical
knowledge. The relationship between medicine and the Cynic philosophy is particularly
complex, and it cannot be regarded as based on an open opposition.
3. Cynicism and the Hippocratic medicine: shared interests?
The position of the ancient Cynic philosophers regarding the classical intellectual
milieu is somewhat ambiguous. Following their appeal for primitivism, they considered the
scholarly knowledge as empty and hollow, and they aimed to erode the symbolic capital
through which the dominant groups legitimated their role in the system of cultural
hegemony
32
. Allegedly Diogenes disdained specialized knowledge, and he thought that
subjects such as grammar, geometry or astronomy were nothing but self-satisfying disciplines
that could not teach anything about the nature of men
33
. Later Cynic philosophers would
adopt this particularly shocking Diogenic behavior
34
. The disdain some Cynics had towards
the “bookish” knowledge contrasts with the importance given to the natural or “divine”
education, based more on moral and ethical grounds than in the theoretical sciences and
techniques
35
. The Spartan education is preferred to the traditional paideia, as it is associated
with the way of life of the leisure social groups
36
.
28
Craik (1995) 346-348.
29
Hipp. Alim. 32; 40; Aph. 1.15; 1.17; Hum. 16; Vict. 1.33-4; 3.58; VM. 10; 20.
30
Hipp. Nat.Hom. 9; Flat. 7; Vict. 3.62.
31
Hipp. VM. 3; Vict. 2.56; cfr. Epid. 7.82. Aristotle also argues that cooking has a transformative effect of
the cooked substances: Arist. Mete. 4.379b-381b. Baffioni (1981) 82-94.
32
Regarding the sociology of knowledge in the ancient Mediterranean world: Barton (1994) 2-8.
33
Diog. Laer. 6.103-4; 73; 38-9; 27-8. Stob. 2.1.23; 2.31.118. Ioann.Chrysost. Adv. oppugnant. vitae
monast. 3.12; Cod.Neapolit. 2D22 n. 49 [SSR V B 368-374; 376; 378] Cfr. Diog. Laert. 6.5 [SSR V A 168].
Concerning the general reject of Cynics to the scholarly knowledge: Hernando Martín (1994); Husson (2011)
53-62.
34
Dio Bor. Fr. 5B Kindstrand [Gnomol.Paris. 320]; D.Chr. 13.16; 22-7. Cfr. Luc. Demon. 1 and 3-4.
Menippus wrote a book against the writers on natural things, mathematicians and grammarians (Diog. Laer. 6,
101).
35
Cod. Vat. 711, fol. 82b [SSR V B 49], where the divine paideia is opposed to the human, sophistic one
(see also D.Chr. 4.26-32). The Cynic interest on the topic of the best upbringing is reflected in the proliferation
of stories, anecdotes and chreia regarding this subject. Concerning Antisthenes: Stob. 2.31.68; 76; Diog. Laert.
6.4-3; 8-9; 103. Diogenes: Cod.Vat. 633 f. 115; 121; Maxim. 44.15; Stob. 2.31.87; 92; Diog. Laert. 6.47; 68;
Diog. Laert. 6.29-31; 74-5 [SSR V B 70]. Diogenes punishing bad education models: Hermog. Prog. 3.19 p. 7
7-14; Theo Prog. 5 p. 97.11-101.2; Plu. Moralia 439d; Lib. Prog. 1.2.1-22; Nicol. Prog. 3 p. 272.20-273.25
[SSR V B 388]. A significant part of the almost lost meliambi of Cercidas dealt with the subject of the good and
bad education: POxy 1082 Col.1.15-22; 2.1-11. Giannantoni (1985) 437-439.
36
Antisthenes: Theo 5 p. 104.15-105.6 [SSR V A 7]. Diogenes: Diog. Laert. 6.27; 59; Stob. 3.13.43 [SSR V
B 280-282]. Diog. Ep. 27. Onesicritus FGrH 134 Fr. 24 [Str. 15.34]. Teles Fr. 3 p. 28 Hense [Stob. 3.40.8].
6
In spite of the proper Cynic discourse regarding virtuous education, ancient Cynic
philosophers were far from being uneducated. Their chreia have a significant amount of
literary parodies, and the Cynic literature, although ill preserved, was a fundamental element
in the spread of this philosophical trend at least since Diogenes´ times
37
. Even if the Cynic
discourse had a scornful attitude towards the most theoretical sciences, the Cynics seem to
have had a particular appeal for the medical knowledge and practice. Different anecdotes and
chreia point out the interest some of them had for medicine, and there are even some stories
concerning the acceptance of medical treatment on behalf of some ill or injured Cynics
38
. The
relationship between Cynicism and the Hippocratic medicine is, nevertheless, more evident in
the discursive horizon than in the behavioral one.
We can perceive a first level in the correspondence between Cynicism and the
medical perspectives on the subject of health, illness, soul and body in the metaphorical
images employed by the Cynic philosophers. Hollow pride is one of the human emotions
against which the Cynic philosophers stand with the most fervor, and it is usually described
as some smoke (typhos) that clouds human minds
39
. Although it remains in the sphere of the
literary or anecdotic metaphor, sometimes there are references to this kind of smoke as being
an actual fluid. Thus, it may surround Crates´ imaginary and utopian island of Pera, but it
may also be one of the humors that compound the human body
40
. The metaphorical
association between the typhos and the bodily fluids underlines the much more developed
relationship established between the purpose of the philosopher and the one of the physician.
A doctor could take care of the body of their patients through diet, medicines and surgery,
while the Cynic philosopher treated the unnatural behaviors of its fellow citizens through a
mixture of violent and comic attitudes that showed the incoherent nature of the socialized
patterns of behavior. Nevertheless, the philosopher is regarded as a physician in several
sources of Cynic inspiration, and his labor is as bitter and necessary as the physician´s
41
. A
deeper significance of this metaphor is explored in some texts that were connected with the
Cynic philosophy. Thus, in one of the longest surviving passages of Antisthenes, the
association between medicine and the concept of polytropia underlines the parallelism
between medical knowledge and rhetorical skills
42
.
If the Cynic philosopher is regarded as a doctor, vice, corruption and other deviant
passions concerning natural behaviors are perceived as diseases (nosoi) that should be treated
Heraclit. Ep. 9; Luc. Demon. 46. The praise of the Spartan agogé does not imply an approval of the Spartan
highly aristocratic attitudes. Diog. Laert. 6.2 [SSR V A 9]; Ael. VH 9.28; 34; Plu. Moralia 477c [SSR V B 287-
288; 464].
37
Regarding the scholarly debate on the Diogenic literature: Goulet-Cazé (1986) 85-90; Husson (2011) 21-
45.
38
Diog. Laert. 6.24 [SSR V B 375]. Antisthenes, for example, certainly expected some other treatment for
his illness beyond Diogenes´ dagger (Diog. Laert. 6.18 [SSR V B 24]. The most interesting case is maybe the
one reported by Galen regarding Theagenes of Megara: Gal. 10.909; 912-5 Kühn. See also: Luc. Peregr. 44;
Demon. 16.
39
Thus, Clemens of Alexandria and Theodoretus argued that, in accordance with Antisthenes, atyphia was
the ultimate goal of life (Clem.Al. Strom. 2.21.130.7; Thdt. Affect. 11.8 = SSR V A 111). Cfr. Aristoc. Fr. 1, 3,
4-5 Chiesara. More references to human pride as typhos in the Cynic thought: M.Ant. 11.6.4; Diog. Laert. 25-
26; Iul. Or. 6.200d-203c; Stob. 3.22.41; Ael. VH 9.34; S.E. M. 8.5; Luc. Nec. 12-13. Regarding this concept:
Decleva Caizzi (1980).
40
Diog. Laert. 6.85 [SSR V H 50] Diog. Laert. 6.7 [SSR V A 27]; cfr. Heraclit. Ep. 5.
41
Antisthenes: Diog. Laert. 6.4; 6 [SSR V A 167; 169]. Diogenes: Anton.Ab. 2.32.61; Luc. Vit. Auct. 6-11;
Stob. 3.10.45; 3.13.43 [SSR V B 80; 229; 281; 385]. Diog. Ep. 50; Bio Bor. Fr. 34, 75 Kindstrand [Teles Fr. 4 p.
39.1-7 Hense; Gnomol.Vat. 157]; Teles Fr. 3 p. 26.5-8; Luc. Demon. 6-7. In an ironic way: Luc. Gall. 10. Dio
Chrysostomus is specially interested in the use of this metaphor regarding Diogenes: Dio Chr. 8.5; 9.4; 10.1;
13.32.
42
Porph. ad. Il. α 1 [SSR V A 187]. Regarding Antisthenes´ philosophy: Brancacci (1990). Concerning his
role in the Cynic school: Navia (2001).
7
to restore health to the body
43
. But the discourse of health, body and illness regarding the
Cynic philosophy goes beyond this metaphorical identification. The Cynic way of life is
conceived as being naturally healthy, and one of the most significant features of the Cynic
philosopher regarding the rest of the community is his good health and the rarity of his
illnesses. The continuous physical training and the scarcity of food are the most prominent
elements of this “natural life”, and they are regarded as the primary features of the almost
supernatural health of the Cynic philosophers
44
. This is materialized in their well-formed
bodies, which may even gain the attention of occasional bystanders
45
. In contrast, the leisure
way of life of the upper social groups, full of extravagant dishes, luxurious foods and general
idleness, is the responsible for their fat, weak and ill bodies
46
. A especially interesting
development of this primitivism discourse regarding body, health and an extreme form of diet
in the ancient Cynic milieu is the topic of the encounter between the King Alexander and the
gymnosophists
47
. Onesicritus of Astypalaia, one of Diogenes´ disciples, seems to be the
source for this story. In it the Brahman priest Dandamis or Mandamis, acting like some
extreme form of Cynic philosopher, argues for the virtues of the simple and natural diet
against the unnecessary complex cuisine of the Mediterranean elites
48
. Later recreations of
this dialogue delve in the counter-cultural features of the brahman-Cynic diet. It condemns
every form of meat eating and encourages vegetarianism, and the Graeco-Roman
“mainstream” way of life is associated with eating and drinking excess, illness and disease
49
.
There are, nevertheless, some interesting divergences regarding the medical and
Cynic discourses concerning health that point out the essential differences between them. The
metaphor concerning the concepts of health/wisdom, illness/vice and nature/civilization lies
beneath the identification between Heracles, the medical profession and the Cynic
philosophers. Nevertheless, this metaphoric trope is particularly complex. The relationship
between Heracles and the Cynic milieu is well known. The Greek hero embodied the simple
and austere way of life, and his fight with the monsters that ravaged the earth was
reinterpreted as the philosopher´s war against pleasure and moral corruption
50
. In the Cynic
discourse, Heracles is associated with the original natural way of life, as he is imperturbable
43
Antisthenes: Clem.Al. Strom. 2.20.107.2-3; Thdt. Affect. 3.53 [SSR V A 123]. Diogenes: Ps.Maxim. Loci
Communes, ap. Cod.Vat.Gr. 739, 35.22 p. 493 Philips; Aesop. 65; Stob. 3.6.37 [SSR V B 330c (addenda), 331;
195]. Diog. Ep. 27, 28, 40, 49. Leonidas of Tarentum: Anthologia Palatina 6.300. Dio Chr. 4.133-9; 10.6. Greed
is sometimes linked to the image of finger arthritis that prevented the sharing of money: Crates: Teles Fr. 4a p.
38.4-8 Hense [SSR V H 44].
44
The importance of the ponoi or “exercises” for the Cynic way of life has been noticed by Boulet-Cazé
(1986) 57-76; Desmond (2008) 153-159.
45
Max.Tyr. 36.5-6; Arr. Epict. 3.22.86-9 [SSR V B 229; 179]; cfr. Iul. Or. 9(6).181a-b [SSR V B 94]. This
feature is particularly persistent in the cultural image of the Cynic philosopher, as Sallustius of Emesa, one of
the latest examples of the Cynic school, had an excellent health, and he was never ill: Phot. Bibl. 342a.
46
Stob. 3.6.37 [SSR V B 195]; Diog. Ep. 28.4-5; Crates Theb. Ep. 20; Menipp. Epistoplographi p. 400;
Hedyl. Anthologia Graeca 11.414; Dio Chr. 6.21-5. Even when the relationship of Lucian with later popular
Cynicism is problematic, there is a particular Cynic influence in some of his works: Luc. Gall. 23.
47
Oliver Segura (1991); Nodar (2000). Regarding the contrast between historical Cynic and Brahman
traditions: Muckenstrurm (1993). Regarding the role of the gymnosophists in the memory of the Alexandrian
expedition: Stoneman (1995).
48
FGrH 134 F 17 [Str. 15.1.63-5; Plu. Alex. 65] cfr. F 24 [Str. 15.1.34].
49
PGen. 271 col. 5-6; col. 9 F B; Pall. Gent.Ind. 2.179-601.
50
Iul. Or. 9(6).187b-c. Diogenes and Heracles: Diog. Laert. 6.45; 6.70-1; Cod.Vat. DCCXI fol. 82b [SSR
V B 465; 291; 49] cfr. Buresch (1889) 119 (nº 70). Diog. Ep. 26. Later references to the Cynics and the figure of
Heracles: Apul. Flor. 22; Ath. 4, 158a (quoting Parmeniscus´ Cynics´ Drinking Party [FGrH 590 T 1]);
Heraclit. Ep. 4; Dio Chr. Or. 8.27-34; Luc. Peregr. 3-4; Symp. 13. The relationship between Heracles and
Antisthenes is particularly interesting, as they are regarded as the two precursors of Cynicism and he even wrote
some works regarding the Greek hero as an example of virtue: Aus. Epigr. 46; Diog. Laer. 6.104-5; Socr. Ep.
9.4. Concerning Antisthenes´ works: SSR V A 92-99.
8
towards the artificial and unhealthy delights brought by the so-called civilization, embodied
in the figure of Prometheus
51
. Physicians also used Heracles´ image to create an analogy with
their profession, although there are some differences with the way the Cynic philosophers
regarded him. In the medical discourse, Heracles is not a primitive hero, but a philanthropic,
cultural figure that brought the civilization to the world alongside with Prometheus. Instead
of arguing for the return to a natural state, medicine is associated with notions such as
cultural progress, continual experimentation and the increasing margins of the human
health
52
. Medicine is a product of cultural development, such as agriculture and other human
techniques and pieces of knowledge
53
. This difference between philosophical primitivism and
the medical “positivist” approach towards his history as a developed science will have a
direct impact on the diverging Cynic and dietetic strategies concerning food, eating and
health.
There is one last area of problematic proximity between the Cynic and Hippocratic
discourses regarding diet: the use of the closely related concepts of “exercise” (askesis,
ponos) and “nature” (physis). In the medical discourse, exercise is a fundamental
characteristic of dietetics, as it is seen as one of the most effective ways of correcting the
deviant functioning of the body due to ill eating behaviors and reversing it
54
. But not all
exercises are equally good, and an excess of them may harm the body as well as their
absence
55
. The author of the treatise On the regime acknowledges a difference between
“natural” exercises (κατὰ φύσιν) and the “violent” ones (διὰ βίης)
56
. The first ones are those
who do not affect the body in any substantial way, such as hearing, seeing, speaking and
thinking. The second ones are those who heat the body, concoct and dissolve the flesh and
digest the power of the foods, such as running
57
. Walking is an intermediate type of exercise,
as it is a natural activity, although there is something violent about it
58
. Nature is,
consequently, a fundamental concept in this treatise. The knowledge of the human nature,
regarded as the study of its primary constituents and the discernment of the components by
which it is controlled, is the essential element of the dietetic science. Nevertheless, the
Hippocratic author does not envisage the original and primitive diet of uncivilized humans as
healthier than other forms of eating. Rather, he aims to analyze how to lessen the effects of
some foods that are naturally too strong and how to strength those who are weak “through
art” (διὰ τέχνης), assimilated cooking and food processing
59
. Health and nature may be
closely related, but they are not really equivalent. The natural state of the body may be a
healthy one, but the expert physician must know how to improve the natural process of
healing. Thus, the author of the treatise On nutriment states that elements such as plasters or
51
Cercidas Pap.Oxy. 1082 Col. 1, ll. 15-22; D. Chr. 6.25; 30; 8.31-3. Cfr. Them. p. 43 Mach [SSR V A
96].
52
Hp. VM. 2-3; 12 cfr. de Arte 12; Loc.Hom. 46. Outside of the strict medical thinking, although related to
it: Xenoph. F 18 Diels-Kranz; Th. 1.12.4; D.S. 1.8.2-8.
53
Hp. Lex. 3. Cfr. A. Pr. 478-83; Isoc. 4.28. Another aspect of this discourse may be seen in the special
dynamics stablished between Demeter and Asklepius in the religious field: Wickkiser (2008) 77-89.
54
For example: Hp. Acut. 12; Epid. 7.5.23; Salbur. 4; Flat. 7. The most interesting Hippocratic treatise
concerning food, health and exercise is On Regimen: 1.2; 1.32. Concerning exercises and health in the
Hippocratic corpus: Angelopolou (2000).
55
Hp. Vict. 2.66; 3.67 ff.
56
Hp. Vict. 3.61-3.
57
Contrast with Hp. Morb.4 50, where “violence” as a property of illness is defined following other
guidelines.
58
Hp. Vict. 62.
59
Hp. Vict. 2. Cfr. Hp. Hebd. 46, where it is argued that anything terrible nor deadly happens in the things
“according to nature” (κατὰ φύσις).
9
ointments and actions such as cooling or warming some parts of the body help nature “from
without” (ἔξωθεν)
60
.
On the other hand, the relationship between nature, exercise and diet presents some
particular characteristics in the Cynic philosophical system. First of all, we should have in
mind that the concepts of ponos and askesis go beyond the idea of physical exercises.
Originally it embraced the idea of forced or painful labor, but in the late Classical period they
also imply the notion of moral excellence
61
. For the Cynic philosophers, nature, moral
excellence and diet, including physical exercises, formed an interwoven phenomenon, and the
exercises that were practiced on behalf of objectives beyond it were useless. The disdain the
Cynic philosophers had towards professional athletes rooted in this idea of useless exercises
that concerned only the beauty of the human body rather than their intellectual or moral
development
62
. Nevertheless, physical exercise was one of the fundamental elements in the
return to the life according to nature and the achievement of moral excellence, as it prevented
the comfortable life that lead to the corruption of both, body and soul
63
. From a certain point
of view, the similarities between Cynic and Hippocratic perspectives on the physical exercise
are further underlined by their conceptual proximity. Diogenes seemingly argued that Medea
was a wise woman that could rejuvenate old bodies through physical exercise, allowing later
stories concerning her cooking old bodies in a magic cauldron
64
. In the Hippocratic thinking,
physical exercises have the effect of “cooking” the flesh and muscle of the patients, making
them firmer and harder
65
. Nevertheless, there are deep divergences in the way Hippocratic
and Cynic philosophers envisaged askesis and ponoi concerning health and nature. For the
latter, the practice of a strict asceticism that envisaged extreme ponoi such as embracing cold
statues in the middle of winter or walking barefoot in the snow was a way of adapting one´s
body to the intemperance of the natural life
66
. Through this extreme form of asceticism, the
Cynic philosopher could not only return to the natural and uncivilized life, but also make him
impervious to the rough conditions imposed by it. His (re)integration in the primitive life
could even help him to overcome the human nature
67
. So, unlike in the Hippocratic thinking
and therapeutics, the Cynic philosophers did not aim to restore or keep their health through
physical exercises. Rather, they train them into the natural life and the moral excellence,
which are the main goals of the Cynic philosophy.
It seems, then, that the somewhat overlapping discourses of Cynicism and Hippocratic
medicine regarding diet, health and nature do not merge in a coherent conceptualization of
them. Both discursive structures share some common concerns regarding food, eating and
cuisine, but they also present significant differences concerning these topics. A close
examination of the way Cynic philosophers and Hippocratic physicians envisaged the
practice of food consumption will help us to understand how these differences are
materialized both, in the Cynic philosophical principles and its dietetic practice.
60
Hp. Alim. 13-14.
61
Loraux (1982); Goulet-Cazé (1986): 53-57.
62
Iul. Or. 9(6), 195a-c; Stob. 3.4.39; Diog. Laert. 6.27; 49; 60; Plut. Moralia 521b (cfr. Diog. Laert. 6.61);
Ael. HV. 12, 58; Hieron. A.Iouin. 2.4; Arr. Epict. 3.22.58 [SSR V B 446-454].
63
Stob. 2.31.68 [SSR V A 163]; Diog. Laert. 6.30-1; Stob. 3.29.92 [SSR V B 70; 340]; Iul. Or. 9(6).195a-c;
Diog. Ep. 27; Maximus Confessor, Loci Communes 27.30 [SSR V H 64]; Crates Theb. Ep. 12; 20; 24; Luc.
Demon. 4.
64
Stob. 3.29.92 [SSR V B 340].
65
Hp. Vict. 62-63; Alim. 51. Cfr. Hp. Carn. 9.
66
Diog. Laert. 6.34; Plut. Moralia 233a [SSR V B 176-177]. Cfr. Hp. Liqu. 1.4; 6.1-3.
67
Goulet-Cazé (1986): 66-71. It is interesting to point out how do some of the most “doctrinaire” texts of
the Cynic intellectual milieu state that the life according to nature should erase even the socially assumed gender
relationships, which are commonly regarded as belonging to the natural order of things: Crates Theb. Ep. 28-33.
10
4. Philosophical primitivism and medical dietetic theories and practices.
As this paper previously stated, Cynicism is not a philosophical school mainly known
for her theoretical or scholarly developments. Nevertheless, it would be misleading to
suppose that it lacked any theoretical basis regarding matters such as ethics, morals and, as a
part of these areas of philosophical knowledge, food and eating. One of the most interesting
fragments of the tragedies ascribed to Diogenes deals precisely with the subject of food
choice and the act of eating
68
. Referring to his tragedy Thyestes, Diogenes Laertius claims
that he argued that there wasn´t anything impious eating the flesh of any animal, implicitly
including human flesh
69
. All elements were contained in all things and pervaded everything.
Not only was meat a constituent of bread, but bread of vegetables, and all other bodies also,
by means of certain invisible passages and particles, found their way in and united with all
substances in the form of vapor
70
. It seems that Diogenes found in Anaxagoras´ concept of
the “homoeomeries” a theoretical base for questioning the wider and socialized cultural
assumptions concerning food, eating and diet
71
. If eating is only a physical act and the type of
food is indifferent regarding human nourishment, there isn´t any real justification for
adhering to a preferred culturally edible menu against the whole edible world.
This theoretical perspective presents a sharp contrast with the significant
developments concerning food and diet on behalf of the classical physicians. The Hippocratic
treaties may differ regarding the subject the precise number and nature of the properties
(dynamis) of foodstuffs, but it is clear that the different foods necessarily have different
properties
72
. Some of them will be beneficial to some individuals, and harming to others. The
treatise On diet argues that both, the precise knowledge of the properties of foods and drinks
and the familiarity with the human nature are the foundations of the dietetic art
73
. The exact
number, relationships and functions of the properties of foods are, nevertheless, a recurring
topic in the Hippocratic treaties. The author of the book On affections claims that the powers
of food should be studied starting with those that prove to have a particular effect on the
body, such as producing flatulence or colic. From this point, the other faculties of food
should be addressed with bigger precaution, as they may not be as evident as the others,
although they may be equally helping or harming
74
. Although they belong to the nature of
food, these properties are not always static, and there are means of altering them. The author
of the treaty On the ancient medicine argues that the analysis of the nutritive properties of
food based on the four principles of heat, cold, dryness or moistness is an oversimplification
that may lead to several health problems. The individual properties and nature of the
ingredients of foods are lost, mixed or combined through the cooking process
75
. There may
be even differences in the properties of one same type of food. For example, the properties of
wheat and wine are very variable, depending on the growing places, the way they were
68
Regarding Diogenes´ tragedies, which some ancient authors argued that were written by Philiscus of
Aegina or a certain Pasiphon (Diog. Laert. 6.73; 80; Iul. Or. 9(6).186c; 7.210c-d; 211d-212a [SSR V B 128]):
Giannantoni (1985) 425-433; Husson (2011) 185-189.
69
At least, it seems so if we accept that Philodemus´ reference to his tragedy Atreus is a misquotation of his
Thyestes:Phld. Stoc. col. XIV ll. 30-31.
70
Diog. Laert. 6.73 [SSR V B 132].
71
Anaxag. D.-K. 59 F. 41-46. Kirk, Raven, Schofield (1983) 374-378.
72
For an analysis on this topic in the later Galenic medicine treaty On the properties of foodstuffs, which
shares some basic points with the Hippocratic medicine: Powell (2003) 9-13.
73
Hp. Vict. 2; VM 20; cfr. Decent. 9, where the memorization of the properties of drugs is among the
elements that define the good physician.
74
Hp. Aff. 47.
75
Hp. VM 13.
11
cultivated and other factors that could contribute to each kind of food being stronger or
weaker
76
.
The properties-guided approach towards food is then opposed to the “homoeomeries”
designed by Anaxagoras and later adopted, at least at some point, by Diogenes. The latter
finds in this concept the philosophical foundation of his “counter-cultural” cuisine, as the
cultural definition of the preferable diet does not lie in any natural claim, just in pleasure and
the love of luxury. What may be naturally eaten, is naturally good for human health, while
what it is not, it will never be, even if the tricky gluttons develop new forms of processing
unhealthy foods. The properties-guided approach towards food blurs the distinction natural-
healthy versus unnatural-unhealthy. Through it, medicine does not usually define the foods as
being entirely healthy or ill for the human body. Instead, they argue that the occasion of their
consumption may be appropriate or inappropriate regarding both, the properties of the food
and the state of the body in the eating moment
77
. Some foods and drinks may have a
particular property that could be seen as harming, such as unmixed wine, but it does not
prevent it to become a staple drink in Hippocratic treatments
78
. Cheese provides to the author
of the treaty On the ancient medicine an excellent example of the correct reasoning regarding
the effect of foods in the human body. To state that cheese is a harmful food (πονηρόν) is
misleading. This argument leaves aside the kind of disturbances it may create and, most
important, the question of why some bodies are incompatible with cheese and why other
people find it an excellent and nutritive food
79
.
The question of cooking and food processing is another of the diverging features of
the Cynic and Hippocratic dietetic guidelines. Following Cynicism´s approach, cooking is an
unnatural process that should be avoided, especially when it is referred to the enhancement of
the food´s natural taste, smell or texture. In spite of the problematic nature of the classical
texts regarding the Cynic philosophers, there is a considerable amount of references of them
theoretically rejecting cooked foods and the use of the culinary fire
80
. The most interesting
theoretical apology regarding ancient Cynic´s raw eating practices is found in Dio
Chrysostom´s depiction of Diogenes
81
. Following him, Diogenes reversed the traditional
interpretation of the Promethean myth, arguing that Zeus punished him because, with the
invention of fire, he gave way to man´s softness and love of luxury. In comparison with the
beasts, which remained strong and healthy without the need of doctors nor drugs, men lived
infested by a host of maladies. Because of their idle life, they needed not only drugs, but also
76
Hp. Aff. 60. Connoisseurship of the gastronomic quality of the different types of wine and food was one
of the mechanisms of social distinction and representation since archaic times: Dalby (1996) 97-106. The
differences between food selection based on taste and that based on health issues is explored by Van der Ween
(2003).
77
Hp. Aff. 50. See also Vict. 39; 70; Aph. 1.70; Acut. 35. It may pass, in accordance with the author of Diet
in acute diseases, that through habit, the body may digest without harm potentially harmful foods: Acut.
36.Regarding arbitrary food taboos: Morb.Sacr. 2.
78
Concerning the importance of wine in ancient medicine: Jouanna (1996).
79
Hp. VM 20; cfr. Vict. 51; 68; 93; Aff. 47; 55; Aër. 18. Milky products were used as purgative elements by
the Cnidian school of medicine: Acut. 2; cfr. Vict. 42; Aff. 30. From a contemporary point of view, it is possible
that lactose intolerance or milk parasites were the answer to this author´s dilemma. Gourevitch (2011) 73-74.
80
Regarding Diogenes: Ath. 8.341e; Censorinus, De die natali, 15.2; Plut. Moralia 995c-d; 956b; Diog.
Laert. 6.34; 76; Iul. Or. 9(6).181a-b; Luc. Vit.Auct. 10; sch.Luc. Vit. Auct. 7; Stob. 4.34.8; Tat. Orat. 2.1 [SSR V
B 90, 93-94]. Regarding other Cynics: Iul. Or. 9(6).193b-c; PGen. 271 Col. 7-8; Pall. Gent. Ind. 2.46. It should
be underlined that this refusal of the culinary fire remains a discursive element of ancient Cynicism. Although
they almost never eat complex food, they do eat cooked or processed foods, such as bread or lentil soups:
Notario (2015).
81
Concerning the use of Dio´s discourses for the study of Diogenes: Brancacci (1977); Jouan (1993);
Brancacci (2000). A detailed bibliography on this subject: Giannantoni (1985) 497-502.
12
the knife and cautery
82
. Through this reinterpretation of the Promethean myth and the role of
fire in human history, Dio´s Diogenes reverses the traditional cultural narratives regarding the
civilization in relationship with the development of the human diet. The parallel processes of
the advancement of the cultural taste for roasted animals and the revulsion concerning the
consumption of human meat are common points in the Greek discourses concerning ancient
ideas of progress
83
. Diogenes´ questioning of the mainstream narratives regarding the
development of human civilization also refers to the point of anthropophagy. In agreement
with several sources, Diogenes conceived it in his ideal community, and Diogenes Laertius
states that the theory of the “homoeomories” allowed him to justify this shocking
behaviour
84
. It must be underlined, nevertheless, that if complete raw eating seems to have
remained more a theoretical outline than a real practice, cannibalism is certainly a mere
discursive element of Cynic and early Stoic philosophy.
We have already seen that the medical discourse comprehends the medical art as
having an intimate connexion with the idea of progress, and thus it presents a direct conflict
with the Cynics attitude regarding the civilization process. Cooking and food processing,
primary elements in the cultural evolution of man, have a nuclear role in the Hippocratic
discourse and practice
85
. As we have seen, the author of the treaty On the ancient medicine
argued that cooking and the culinary processes could tame, enhance and mix the different
properties of foodstuffs, making them not only edible, but also healthy
86
. The connection
between cookery and medicine is profound and perceptible in various overlapping cultural
representations of these two arts. The history of the healing practices is regarded in the
aforementioned treaty as something parallel to the development of food selection and
processing, rejecting those substances that were naturally ill to the human beings unless
properly handled. Referring to the practice of primitive experimentation with food, he even
asks if there could be another more appropriate name for this art than medicine
87
.
The relationship between medicine and cookery is also stated in other cultural
representations of cooks and physicians. Plato offers us one of the most interesting critical
perspectives on this subject. In contrast with the conciliatory character of some Hippocratic
texts concerning fancy cookery, the philosopher argued that the new culinary style was in
direct opposition to the medical practice. It should be then disregarded as something
pleasurable for the body, but not good for it
88
. In the comic discourse, we can find further
developments of the connection between medicine, food and cookery in the popular thought.
Classical comedies do not directly reflect the actual medical practice, as they usually deform
it in a comic way. Nevertheless, they provide us with a significant insight into the way
82
D.Chr. 6.21-5. It seems that Diogenes had a particular taste for the parody of traditional myths. Other
texts concerning similar depiction of Oedipus as a vacuous sophist are regarded as following the original
Diogenean tragedy: S.E. P. 3, 246-247; ZenoStoic. fr. 256 SVF I p. 60; Chrysipp.Stoic. fr. 754 SVF 3 p. 185.
Prometheus is also regarded as a sophist that is cured of his vanity due to Heracles´ intervention: D.Chr. 8.31-3.
83
Athenio F 1 K-A.; D.S. 1.14.1; 1.90.1; Pl. Epin. 975a-b; Moschio TrGF 97 F 6; Porph. Abst. 2.27. In
general: Wilkins (2000) 410-412.
84
Phld. Sto. 16-20-1. Diog. Laert. 6.73M Thphl.Ant. Autol. 3.5 [SSR V B 126; 132; 134]. Concerning this
subject: Husson (2011) 136-145.
85
From a metaphorical point of view, the human body inner functioning works is expressed using the
culinary vocabulary: Tacchini (1999); Leven (2005): 543-544.
86
Hp. VM. 13-4. See also: Hp. de Arte 5, 13. The worst possible diet is the one that consists in inherently
dissimilar foods, so it is necessary to combine foods with similar substances: Hp. Flat. 7.
87
Hp. VM. 2-3; cfr. Cels. Proem. 33-6. More references concerning primitive life and diet: Democr. Fr. 68
D-K.; Critias Fr. 19 Snell; D.S. 1.18.1; Lucr. 5.931-2.
88
Pl. Alc. 1.108e-109a; Amat. 134c-a; Grg. 201a; Io. 531e; Lg. 2.659e-666a; Prt. 224c; R. 1.332c-d. Cfr.
Hp. Aph. 1.17; Vict. 18. From the Cynic point of view, Crates linked the huge amount of money a profligate rich
invests in cookery with the little money he reserves for the physician: Diog. Laert. 6.86 [SSR V H 78].
Regarding Plato and cookery: Notario (2015a) 125-134.
13
medicine was perceived on behalf of the general public
89
. It is not surprising that dietetics
was among the most represented forms of medical therapy. However, it should be underlined
that, cookery is in direct relationship with medicine, especially when the comic authors
explore the topic that John Wilkins defined as “the boastful chef”
90
. In a period characterized
by the professionalization of both, cookery and medicine, it is significant that the comic cook
associated his knowledge to the one of the physician
91
.
It would seem, then, that cookery and food processing are core aspects of ancient
therapeutics both, from an inner and an external point of view. There is a significant contrast
between Hippocratic and Cynic behaviors concerning food and eating in relationship with the
diverging concepts of health and nature they envisage. The Cynic philosophers seldom
addressed the differences between their approach towards food and the one supported by the
professional physicians. Nevertheless, there are some interesting references of confrontation
between these two perspectives concerning nature, health and eating that allow us to reassess
the ground in which they were developed
92
. Plutarch reports some of the most interesting
cases of this dispute in his Table Talks. One of them concerns drinking rather than eating
93
.
The contrast between Niger and Aristion´s arguments concerning wine drinking summarizes
the central features of the debate, although none of them seem to have been neither a full
Cynic philosopher nor a physician. Niger is depicted on another occasion as a sophist with
some philosophical interests that never seemed to be very cautious with his health while
Aristion appears to be a gourmet with some learned knowledge regarding food and cookery
94
.
The controversy reminds us, in any case, of the basic guidelines that conform the diverging
attitudes concerning nature, health and diet. Niger argued that wine filtering removed the
substances that gave this drink his distinctive power and strength (ῥώµην καὶ δύναµιν),
making it a soft drink that sacrificed the useful in favour of the pleasurable. Filtered wine is
metaphorically referred as being an emasculated drink, developed by those who were too
poor in health to drink it in its natural form or for those intemperate that could not drink in
moderation. On the contrary, Aristion claims that the filtering process rid the wine of the
heavy, intoxicating and morbid elements (βαρὺ καὶ µεθυστικὸν ἀφιεὶς καὶ νοσῶδες ἐλαφρὸς),
and he compares it to the medical treatment provided to a frenzied madman
95
.
The other case concerns a learned debate between Marcion, which seems to be a
professional physician, and Philinus, a philosopher that is represented through some of the
most common Cynic traits
96
. The host of the party in which this table talk takes place is the
physician Philo, which on the occasion of the festival of the Elaphebolia organized a
luxurious banquet full of delicacies and complex foods
97
. The central subject of the talk rises
when one of Philibus´ young students (or one of his sons) rejects eating these exquisite foods
and resigned to eating bread alone. Philo, noticing it, went to find something equally austere
although more filling, such as dried figs and cheese
98
. Although the general argument
revolves around the question of whether simple or mixed foods were more digestible, the real
89
Rodríguez Alfageme (1999); Leven (2005) 516-518.
90
Wilkins (2000) 387-408.
91
For example: Alexis F 129, 146, 153; Antiph. F 293; Dionys.Com. F 2 K-A.
92
For example: Ath. 4.158a. In Athenaeus´ Deipnosophists the character of Cynulcus is engaged in various
debates regarding food and nutrition: Stoneman (2000).
93
Plut. Moralia 692b-693e. A useful commentary: Teodorsson (1990) 271-282.
94
Niger: Plut. Moralia 131a-b. Aristion: Plut. Moralia 657b-e; 696e-697b.
95
Concerning Plutarch´s use of medical terminology in the Table talks: Vamvoury Ruffy (2012).
96
Plut. Moralia 660d-664a; Teodorsson (1990) 18-47. Unless the remark at 663f is ironical, it is hardly
possible that Philinus were a Pythagorean, as they avoided bean consumption. Philinus arguments and Marcion
attacks did not lie in the traditional Pythagorean ideas concerning food purity, but rather on the Cynic principle
of the rejection of pleasure.
97
Philo also appears in Moralia 640b-641a; 687b-689a; 731a-734c.
98
Bread and dried figs were among the most noticeable Cynic foods: Notario (2015b) 591-3; 601-2.
14
issue has to do with austere eating as against luxurious one, a typical subject of Cynic
philosophy
99
. It is very significant that Philinus made some asseverations allegedly inspired
in the medical discourse and practice concerning dietetics and digestion
100
. He even states
that the source of his knowledge on the subject is no other than the host of the feast, Philo.
Some of their statements have some correlation with the Hippocratic treatises, although the
degree of correspondence between them is a matter of inspiration rather than direct
knowledge. For example, when he argues that no physician ever prescribed a varied diet for
fevered patients, he seemingly echoes some of the Hippocratic thoughts on the topic,
although somewhat transformed. The Hippocratic treatises that deal with the diet of the
feverish patients, such as On Affections or Regime in Acute Diseases (Appendix) do not
address directly the subject of mixed or simple eating. Rather, they seem to be more
concerned with the texture of food following a structural pattern based on the gradation of
liquid-solid than with their simple or complex nature
101
. In turn, Marcion uses a philosophical
language in stating not only that pleasure and health are not opposed, but rather, that they are
supportive of each other. Eating, sleeping, bathing, anointing and resting on a couch are
pleasurable activities, but they also nurse the patients back to health weakening the illnesses
and providing what it is “according to nature” (κατὰ φύσιν)
102
. The main point of his
dissertation is that complex foods can feed the body in a multiplicity of qualities that are
required to each part of the body, allowing thus a quicker and more efficient digestion
103
. If
the ideas of Philinus were widely followed, they could lead to an involution of the medical
knowledge, clung to the traditional practices of providing nothing more than gruels
(πτισάνῃ), cupping (σικύᾳ) and oil-and-water (ὑδερλαίῳ)
104
. The “simple foods” that Philinus
encourages are harsh and primitive, such as very coarse barley meal, horn onion or even the
lowest quality wine. They may be as natural as they could be, and provide the least possible
pleasure and moral corruption. but they could be hardly described as being healthy foods.
5. Conclusions.
The disputes witnessed by Plutarch between Niger and Ariston and Philinus and
Marcion are a sign of the complex interactions between medical and philosophical attitudes
towards food, drinking and the human health in classical Antiquity. The classical Health Care
System, as it would be defined by medical anthropology, lacks a formal definition in the
classical period. Even in the Hippocratic texts it is not difficult to find diverging attitudes
concerning major details on the functioning and nature of the human body. Nevertheless, at
the end of the fifth century B.C. it would seem that there is a set of basic notions or
“dominant symbols” that are shared by the practitioners and theoretical writers of what it
could be loosely called “the Hippocratic medicine”. The importance of food and diet is one of
the fundamental elements of this rationalistic approach towards health and the healing
process, and it has a profound projection towards other areas of the late classical Greek
culture that could help to define the ancient Health Care System.
Ancient Cynicism finds in the consolidating Hippocratic thinking a source of
inspiration for his philosophical statements regarding nature, virtue and health. Ancient
Cynics integrated some of the medical “dominant symbols” in their theoretical discourse.
99
The point is further explored in Macrobius´ reappraisal of same topic: Macr. Sat. 7.4.3 ff.
100
Some other arguments, such as the natural health of the animals against the unnatural human diseases,
have a distinct Cynic background (Cfr. n. 82).
101
Lonie (1977) 241 ff.
102
Plut. Moralia, 662b-c.
103
Plut. Moralia, 663a-b.
104
Plut. Moralia, 663c.
15
Thus, ponos being a fundamental element in the Cynic way of life or the importance of the
things “according to nature” remind us of the way the Hippocratic treaties envisage the
dietetic discourse and practice. Other areas connected with the mechanisms of self-
representation underline the proximity between Cynicism and the medical profession,
establishing common metaphors between them. Nevertheless, the Cynic philosophical issues
prevented a full implementation of the most widespread medical theories. The primitivism of
these philosophers leads them to argue that the only source of health was in the return to the
natural, as uncivilized, state. Diogenes of Sinope, the alleged founder of the Cynic
philosophy, embodies these counter-cultural attitudes through the rejection of complex
processed foods and the preference for the “homeomeric” analysis of the edible substances
that could allow him to establish a counter-cultural cuisine. These elements presents a
confrontation with the more widespread medical theories and practices, as the Hippocratic
physicians do not conceive an immediate link between “nature” and “health”. Rather, they
support the idea of dietetics being a complex area of knowledge that does not rely on simple
statements or dualistic approaches, much less if they are based in loose concepts such as
natural or artificial foods. Nevertheless, these two systems of knowledge do not present
themselves as completely opposed. As they share a significant conceptual framework
regarding food and health, representatives of both of them are able to engage in vibrant
intellectual discussions, challenging each other´s assumptions concerning the place of diet in
the system of human health using their opponents´ original arguments.
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