Hipparchia of Maroneia

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Hipparchia of Maroneia
Ἱππαρχία
Hipparchia leaves home to live as a philosopher, carrying all her possessions in a box. Detail from a Roman wall painting in the Villa Farnesina
Born	c. 350 BC Maroneia, Thrace
Died	c. 280 BC
Spouse	Crates of Thebes
Era	Ancient philosophy
Region	Greek philosophy
School	Cynicism

Hipparchia of Maroneia (/hɪˈpɑːrkiə/; Greek: Ἱππαρχία ἡ Μαρωνεῖτις; fl. c. 325 BC) was a Cynic philosopher, and wife of Crates of Thebes. She was the sister of Metrokles, the cynic philosopher.^[1] She was born in Maroneia, but her family moved to Athens, where Hipparchia came into contact with Crates, the most famous Cynic philosopher in Greece at that time. She fell in love with him, and, despite the disapproval of her parents, she married him. She went on to live a life of Cynic poverty on the streets of Athens with her husband.

Little survives of her own philosophical views, but like most Cynics, her influence lies in the example of her life, choosing a way of life which was usually considered unacceptable for respectable women of the time. The story of her attraction to Crates, and her rejection of conventional values, became a popular theme for later writers.