The Cynics emerged in Athens in the 4th century BCE, founded by Antisthenes — another student of Socrates — and made famous by Diogenes of Sinope, who reportedly lived in a large ceramic jar, owned almost nothing, and delighted in puncturing social pretension. The name comes from the Greek kynikos, “dog-like,” a jab at their shameless rejection of wealth, status, and convention in favor of a simple life lived according to nature. Their attitude fed directly into early Stoicism.