In this seminar we shall read the sources that tell us about the origins of cynicism in antiquity (Antisthenes, Diogenes and Crates), discuss the problems connected with the interpretation of the evidence, and ponder the possible social and political function of this movement. We shall then survey the vibrant echoes and imitations of cynicism in the first centuries CE (Demetrius of Corinth, Peregrinus Proteus, Julian). If there is time, the seminar also explores the merits of modern manifestations of philosophical cynicism, for example in Michel Onfray.