Philosopher (334 BC – 262 BC)
Zenon of Citium, (to discern him from Zenon of Elea), is the founder of the Stoic Philosophic School. He descended from the Greek colony Citium in Southern Italy and was accidentally introduced to philosophy when while working as a merchant he was shipwrecked in Athens. There, he studied under the supervision of Crates of the Cynic School of Philosophy. For 20 years he studied in various Philosophic Schools as well as the teachings of Academic Xenocrates. However, Zenon was still unsatisfied and his first for knowledge led him to found his own Philosophic School, which he termed Stoic after the Stoa, the place where the lessons were held.
Stoic philosophy was focused on three philosophical sciences: logic, physics and ethics. In the field of ethics Zeno wrote at least 7 books, none of which survives today and introduced the meaning of the word “duty”. Zenon taught that life is created by God and God is what gives beings shape and motion. In Logic, he stated that due to man’s own logic nature, he is in position to determine what is moral for him.
Virtue is not bestowed to man by God but is acquired upon free will. Like Pythagoras and Plato, Zenon distinguished four types of virtues: justice, good sense (σωφροσύνη), common sense (φρόνησις) and bravery. It is necessary for these virtues to co-exist in order one to be virtuous. Man was to live according to his own nature and be guided by virtue. To live according to nature meant understanding nature and for one to understand nature required him to have a placid soul. Virtue is the only thing that brings true happiness. In stoic philosophy, wisdom was understood as man’s subjugation to God and the acceptance and understanding of causality.
Zenon’s School had tremendous impact on philosophy. Throughout the years, it attracted numerous important philosophers like Chrysippus, Epictetus, Poseidonius and Marcus Aurelius. All of his students proved to be influential philosophers who expanded the Stoic philosophy and compiled works of their own.
Bibliography
- Myrsioti, Sophia. «Η Στωϊκή Φιλοσοφία». Philologos.eu. 14 July, 2016.
- Pleures, Konstantinos. Greek Philosophers. Athens: Hilektron, 2014. Print.
- “Zenon o Kitieus”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
[…] He was a student of Diogenes the Cynic and teacher of Menedemus of the School of Eretria and of Zenon of Citium. Although all his treatises have been lost, we know from contemporary authors that Stilpo developed […]
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