# Life of Alexander, Chapter 14: The Encounter with Diogenes, by Plutarch

- Identifiant : `diogenes.plutarch_alexander`
- Auteur : Plutarch
- URL canonique : https://prokopton42.com/en/works/plutarch/plutarch-alexander/
- Empreinte : `d472ab74cc320a6a0f49bea4917f86588e376c0cc768206df1bc6aea42f2eca0`

## What you will learn

Interpret the contrast between power and independence, analyze biographical character-building, and measure the distance between exemplary anecdote and established event.

## Summary

The episode draws force from brevity: a ruler surrounded by courtiers offers anything, while the philosopher asks only that an obstacle be removed. Alexander’s response turns affront into admiration and fixes the moral portrait of both men.

Plutarch composed the biography centuries after the alleged event. The account belongs to his art of character and to an already developed anecdotal tradition. It should be read as an exemplary scene of reception, not a secure transcript of the encounter.