Demetrius was a Cynic philosopher from Corinth who lived in Rome under the emperors Caligula, Nero and Vespasian. He was a close friend of Seneca, who wrote about him often and described him as “a man of consummate wisdom, though he himself disclaimed it.”
He was known for his contempt for wealth: when Caligula offered him two hundred thousand sesterces to win him over, he is said to have replied that if the emperor meant to tempt him, he should have offered his entire kingdom. He was also a friend of Thrasea Paetus and was with him when Thrasea was condemned to death in AD 66.