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Biography of Zeno of CitiumName: Zeno of CitiumBirth Date: 335 B.C. Death Date: 263 B.C. Place of Birth: Citium Nationality: Greek Gender: Male Occupations: philosopher Zeno of Citium The Greek philosopher Zeno of Citium (335-263 BC) was the founder of Stoicism. His teachings had a profound influence throughout the ancient world and in important respects helped pave the way for Christianity.Zeno the son of Mnaseas, was born in the Cypriot town of Citium and may have been part Semitic. His education, however, was thoroughly Greek, and he went to Athens about 313 B.C., where he attended the lectures of various philosophers, including Crates the Cynic, Stilpo, Xenocrates, and Polemo. Crates was his most important early master, and his first book, the Republic, was Cynic in inspiration and viewpoint. He took what he thought was the best of his masters' teachings and developed a complete philosophical system of his own. His followers were at first called Zenonians, but the name Stoics, which derived from the Stoa Poikile where Zeno taught, proved more popular. He was greatly respected at Athens …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…sensitive mind.With the demise of the city-states and the concomitant failure of the older and simpler religious views to satisfy men's new spiritual needs in a time of changing values, Zeno's philosophical teachings imparted a sense of worth and dignity to the lives of great numbers of men. The striking similarities between Stoicism and Christianity made it one of the important precursors of that religion in antiquity. Further Reading An excellent introduction to Zeno and the Stoic school is in Moses Hadas, ed., Essential Works of Stoicism (1961). A more critical summary of Stoic theory and teachings is in Eduard Zeller, Outlines of the History of Greek Philosophy, revised by Wilhelm Nestle and translated by L. R. Palmer (1955). Briefer treatments of Zeno are in the surveys of ancient philosophy, such as Gordon H. Clark, ed., Selections from Hellenistic Philosophy (1940), and Arthur H. Armstrong, An Introduction to Ancient Philosophy (1947; 4th ed. 1965). |