Zeno of Citium (jan 1, 334 BC – jan 1, 262 BC)

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One of the most widespread schools of thought founded by the ancient Greek philosophers was Stoicism. This practical philosophy was first developed by Zeno of Citium. Zeno studied under Diogenes the Cynic but took issue with some of his mentor’s more extreme ideas. So, he struck out on his own.

The main tenet of Stoicism is accepting what is not under your control. Zeno believed that by accepting what was not in our power we could dedicate our attention to what we did have power over. He believed in a divine “Logos” or lawmaker who presided over natural laws. Humans, Zeno argued, had been given free will.

By using our free will to accept what we cannot control, Zeno believed that we could work towards cultivating a “life in accordance with nature”. This refers both to living in harmony with the natural world and accepting our inherent human nature. In both instances, we should accept both the good and bad aspects of life.

Stoicism was developed further by Greek philosophers like Chrysippus but truly began to flourish during the Roman period. The famous philosopher-emperor, Marcus Aurelius, was a student of Stoicism along with writers such as Epictetus and Seneca.

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