# Anaxarchus explained — The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

> Chapter companion for The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laërtius.

## What happens

Anaxarchus of Abdera, a philosopher of the school of Democritus and companion of Alexander the Great, is known for his fearless defiance against the tyrant Nicocreon, who brutally executed him by pounding in a mortar. His famous saying 'Beat the bag of Anaxarchus, but you will not beat Anaxarchus himself' exemplifies his equanimity and self-control, earning him the epithet 'the Happy.' He also reproved Alexander's delusion of divinity by pointing to his blood as mortal.

## Themes in this chapter

### Ethics and Self-Control

Anaxarchus's equanimity and tranquility in the face of torture and death, earning him the name 'the Happy,' exemplifies the Stoic-like ideal of self-control and indifference to pain.

### Death and Legacy

The brutal execution of Anaxarchus and his famous last words ('Beat the bag...') highlight his legacy as a philosopher who valued inner freedom over bodily suffering.

## Character check-ins

### Anaxarchus

Protagonist of the chapter; a philosopher of Abdera, pupil of Diogenes of Smyrna or Metrodorus of Chios, intimate of Alexander, known for his calmness and famous death by pounding.

### Alexander

King of Macedon; Anaxarchus enjoyed his intimacy and reproved his belief in his own divinity by pointing to his blood.

### Nicocreon

Tyrant of Cyprus and enemy of Anaxarchus; after Alexander's death, he captured Anaxarchus and had him pounded to death in a mortar.

### Democritus

Mentioned as a possible teacher in the lineage of Anaxarchus (through Nessus and Metrodorus).

## Key lines

> Beat the bag of Anaxarchus, but you will not beat Anaxarchus himself.

You can destroy my body, but you cannot harm my true self.

_Anaxarchus's defiant response while being pounded to death, emphasizing the distinction between the physical body and the indomitable spirit._

> This is blood, and not: 'Such stream as issues from a wounded God; Pure emanation, uncorrupted flood, Unlike our gross, diseas’d, terrestrial blood.'

This is ordinary human blood, not the ichor of a god.

_Anaxarchus reproves Alexander's belief in his own divinity by pointing to the blood from a wound, reminding him of his mortality._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters/anaxarchus
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lives_and_opinions_of_eminent_philosophers_se/chapters