Zeno of Kitium

336 B.C to 264 B.C.

Zenon was born in Kitium (now Larnaca ) in Cyprus in 336 B.C.

He is said to have been inspired by Crates the Cynic, the story as we know it is:

Zenon was the son of a merchant, and when travelling to Phoenicia with a load of purple (probably dye or cloth) was shipwrecked, and ended up in Piraeus. (The harbour of Athens in Greece). (The story we have actually says that he was shipwrecked outside of Piraeus, however if you look at a map you will see that Phoenicia is "the other way")
Whilst looking in a bookstore in that city, he came across certain philosophical manuscripts, and was so interested in their content, that he asked where he could find  ' men who wrote and thought in such a manner.' At that moment the Cynic Crates was passing by, and Zenon followed him. From then on he became Crates' student and stayed in Athens.

When he was 42 years of age, Zenon started his own philosophical school in a colonnade called the Stoa Poikile (painted porch) which was adorned with pictures of the Trojan war, Marathon and the Amazons by Polygnotus. His students were first called Zenonians and then Stoics ( after the nature of the decorations).

Zenon had for a disciple Cleanthes, from Assos in the Troad (300-220), whose hymn to Jupiter is the only fragment of any length that has come down to us from the early Stoics. It is a poem setting forth the unity of God, his omnipotence and his moral government.

Chrysippus, from Soli in Cilicia (280-207) followed Cleanthes, and in his voluminous writings both defended and modified the Stoical creed.

To Zeno belongs the establishment of the logical criterion, the adaptation of Heraclitean physics and the introduction of all the leading ethical tenets. He was a very humble man and took as his students poor and rich alike. He disliked mixing with Kings or the authorities. At one point, when he was unable to pay the resident alien's tax, the Athenians sold him into slavery - but he was bought by a friend and freed. Later the Athenians honoured him with a golden crown and a large tomb built at public expense. The Athenians held him in such high esteem that they awarded him the keys of the city and a golden wreath. They also put up a copper statue to honour him. (Who was it that said your condemnation is as meaningful as your adulation- or something similar)

Zenon died as simply as he had lived, he just hanged himself when he thought his time had come. His ideas and the resultant stoic philosophy had a great impact on many of the important men of his day  and the history of our civilisation.

The principles of the doctrine are: The striving after equanimity, the hardening of ones self against the blows of fortune, the limiting of wants and the practice of contentment. Also a qualified form of the subordinating of "self" to the general welfare.  As you can see these are also an  essential part of most modern theories of virtue.

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See: Zellers Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics (Eng. translation 1870)
A.C.Pearson. The fragments of Zeno and Cleanthes (1891)
and works by Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca
Diogenes Laertius provides a very long summary of his ideas and those of the other Stoics.

(1998) was dedicated to eventss of a philosophical nature.

On the 9th 10th and 11th of September we had the biggest and best ever in the whole wide world Philosophers Symposium, with 18 great philosophers from all over the world as guests of honour.
The opening was at The Larnaca Municipal Theatre on the 9th of September at 6 p.m.
It was a lovely party, with the Larnaca municipal band playing in the background.
The next 2 days saw sessions from all the speakers at the Sun Hall Hotel conference room, with questions at the end of each speakers dissertation. The there was the formation and organisational meeting of the International Stoic Society. The closing  was at the Larnaca fort, with a reception and performance by Diastasis, a Cypriot song and dance group, who's performance was superb.

Thanks are due to Demetrios Pierides, President of the PIERIDES Museum for his sponsorship and excellent hospitality.

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