Roman Fresco of Crates and Hipparchia
2004 © Maxim Tabachnik
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Roman Fresco of Crates and Hipparchia

304
This fresco from Villa della Farnesina (1st c. BC–1st c. AD) presents the philosophers Crates of Thebes and Hipparchia of Maroneia in quiet dialogue. They follow the Greek Cynic tradition, which sought virtue through rejection of wealth and status. Crates, a former aristocrat, gave away his fortune, while Hipparchia embraced the same austere public life, turning the wall of a riverside villa into a model of shared virtue and radical simplicity.