Cynics

Cynics were ancient Greek philosophers who believed that happiness came from giving away one's possessions and keeping one's needs to a minimum. That way someone could keep his independence and attain happiness. The Cynics also rejected socially accepted behavior, from the English word "cynicism" derives.

Diogenes is credited with founding this philosophy, but some historians think the real founder was the teacher of Diogenes, who was Antisthenes of Athens.

Cynics were also known as "beggar-philosophers" because they could be seen with merely a knapsack on their backs and walking sticks in their hands. There were many of them in the 3rd century B.C., and there was a revival of them in the first century A.D. By the end of the 5th century A.D. they had all disappeared.