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Zeno of Citium

Zeno of Citium (/ˈzn/; Koinē Greek: Ζήνων ὁ Κιτιεύς, Zēnōn ho Kitieus; c. 334 – c. 262 BC) was a Hellenistic philosopher from Citium (Κίτιον, Kition), Cyprus.[3] He was the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy, which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC. Based on the moral ideas of the Cynics, Stoicism laid great emphasis on goodness and peace of mind gained from living a life of virtue in accordance with nature. It proved very popular, and flourished as one of the major schools of philosophy from the Hellenistic period through to the Roman era, and enjoyed revivals in the Renaissance as Neostoicism and in the current era as Modern Stoicism.

Zeno of Citium
Zeno of Citium. Bust in the Farnese collection, Naples. Photo by Paolo Monti, 1969.
Bornc. 334 BC
Diedc. 262 BC (aged 71–72)
EraHellenistic philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolStoicism
Main interests
Logic, Physics, Ethics
Notable ideas
Founder of Stoicism, three branches of philosophy (physics, ethics, logic),[1] Logos, rationality of human nature, phantasiai, katalepsis, world citizenship[2]

Life edit

Zeno was born c. 334 BC,[a] in the Phoenician colony Citium in Cyprus.[4][5] His ancestry is disputed between Phoenician and Greek,[6][7] because Citium contained both Phoenician and Greek inhabitants.[6][8] While most contemporary and modern historians regard Zeno as a Phoenician,[9][10] some modern scholars have contested this arguing for a Greek[b][8] or Greco-Phoenician background.[12] The only things that historians know with certainty, are that Zeno had a Greek name, a Greek higher education and that there is no evidence he knew a language other than Greek.[13] His father, Mnaseas, had a name ambiguously meaningful both in Phoenician ("one causing to forget") and in Greek ("mindful").[14] His mother and her name are not recorded.[14]

Most of the details known about his life come from the biography and anecdotes preserved by Diogenes Laërtius in his Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers written in the 3rd century AD, a few of which are confirmed by the Suda (a 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia).[15] Diogenes reports that Zeno's interest in philosophy began when "he consulted the oracle to know what he should do to attain the best life, and that the gods' response was that he should take on the complexion of the dead. Whereupon, perceiving what this meant, he studied ancient authors."[16] Zeno became a wealthy merchant.

On a voyage from Phoenicia to Peiraeus he survived a shipwreck, after which he went to Athens and visited a bookseller. There he encountered Xenophon's Memorabilia. He was so pleased with the book's portrayal of Socrates that he asked the bookseller where men like Socrates were to be found. Just then, Crates of Thebes – the most famous Cynic living at that time in Greece – happened to be walking by, and the bookseller pointed to him.[17]

Zeno is described as a haggard, dark-skinned person,[18] living a spare, ascetic life[19] despite his wealth. This coincides with the influences of Cynic teaching, and was, at least in part, continued in his Stoic philosophy. From the day Zeno became Crates’ pupil, he showed a strong bent for philosophy, though with too much native modesty to assimilate Cynic shamelessness. Hence Crates, desirous of curing this defect in him, gave him a potful of lentil-soup to carry through the Ceramicus (the pottery district); and when he saw that Zeno was ashamed and tried to keep it out of sight, Crates broke the pot with a blow of his staff. As Zeno began to run off in embarrassment with the lentil-soup flowing down his legs, Crates chided, "Why run away, my little Phoenician? Nothing terrible has befallen you."[20]

Apart from Crates, Zeno studied under the philosophers of the Megarian school, including Stilpo,[21] and the dialecticians Diodorus Cronus,[22] and Philo.[23] He is also said to have studied Platonist philosophy under the direction of Xenocrates,[24] and Polemo.[25]

Zeno began teaching in the colonnade in the Agora of Athens known as the Stoa Poikile (Greek Στοὰ Ποικίλη) in 301 BC. His disciples were initially called "Zenonians," but eventually they came to be known as "Stoics," a name previously applied to poets who congregated in the Stoa Poikile.

Among the admirers of Zeno was king Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia,[26] who, whenever he came to Athens, would visit Zeno. Zeno is said to have declined an invitation to visit Antigonus in Macedonia, although their supposed correspondence preserved by Laërtius[27] is undoubtedly the invention of a later writer.[28] Zeno instead sent his friend and disciple Persaeus,[27] who had lived with Zeno in his house.[29] Among Zeno's other pupils there were Aristo of Chios, Sphaerus, and Cleanthes who succeeded Zeno as the head (scholarch) of the Stoic school in Athens.[30]

Zeno is said to have declined Athenian citizenship when it was offered to him, fearing that he would appear unfaithful to his native land,[31] where he was highly esteemed, and where he contributed to the restoration of its baths, after which his name was inscribed upon a pillar there as "Zeno the philosopher".[32] We are also told that Zeno was of an earnest, gloomy disposition;[33] that he preferred the company of the few to the many;[34] that he was fond of burying himself in investigations;[35] and that he disliked verbose and elaborate speeches.[36] Diogenes Laërtius has preserved many clever and witty remarks by Zeno,[37] although these anecdotes are generally considered unreliable.[28]

Zeno died around 262 BC.[a] Laërtius reports about his death:

As he was leaving the school he tripped and fell, breaking his toe. Striking the ground with his fist, he quoted the line from the Niobe:

I come, I come, why dost thou call for me?

and died on the spot through holding his breath.[38]

At Zeno's funeral an epitaph was composed for him stating:

And if thy native country was Phoenicia,

What need to slight thee? Came not Cadmus thence,

Who gave to Greece her books and art of writing?[39]

This signified that even though Zeno was of non-Greek background the Greeks still respected him, comparing him to the legendary Phoenician hero Cadmus who had brought the alphabet to the Greeks, as Zeno had brought Stoicism to them and was described as "the noblest man of his age" with a bronze statue being built in his honor.[9][40]

During his lifetime, Zeno received appreciation for his philosophical and pedagogical teachings. Among other things, Zeno was honored with the golden crown,[40] and a tomb was built in honor of his moral influence on the youth of his era.[41]

The crater Zeno on the Moon is named in his honour.

Philosophy edit

 
Modern bust of Zeno in Athens

Following the ideas of the Old Academy, Zeno divided philosophy into three parts: logic (a wide subject including rhetoric, grammar, and the theories of perception and thought); physics (not just science, but the divine nature of the universe as well); and ethics, the end goal of which was to achieve eudaimonia through the right way of living according to Nature. Because Zeno's ideas were later expanded upon by Chrysippus and other Stoics, it can be difficult to determine precisely what he thought. But his general views can be outlined as follows:

 
Socrates, Plato, Pythagoras, Aristotle & Zeno by François Pouqueville

Logic edit

In his treatment of logic, Zeno was influenced by Stilpo and the other Megarians. Zeno urged the need to lay down a basis for logic because the wise person must know how to avoid deception.[42] Cicero accused Zeno of being inferior to his philosophical predecessors in his treatment of logic,[43] and it seems true that a more exact treatment of the subject was laid down by his successors, including Chrysippus.[44] Zeno divided true conceptions into the comprehensible and the incomprehensible,[45] permitting for free-will the power of assent (sinkatathesis/συνκατάθεσις) in distinguishing between sense impressions.[46] Zeno said that there were four stages in the process leading to true knowledge, which he illustrated with the example of the flat, extended hand, and the gradual closing of the fist:

Zeno stretched out his fingers, and showed the palm of his hand, – "Perception," – he said, – "is a thing like this."– Then, when he had closed his fingers a little, – "Assent is like this." – Afterwards, when he had completely closed his hand, and showed his fist, that, he said, was Comprehension. From which simile he also gave that state a new name, calling it katalepsis (κατάληψις). But when he brought his left hand against his right, and with it took a firm and tight hold of his fist: – "Knowledge" – he said, was of that character; and that was what none but a wise person possessed.[47]

Physics edit

The universe, in Zeno's view, is God:[48] a divine reasoning entity, where all the parts belong to the whole.[49] Into this pantheistic system he incorporated the physics of Heraclitus; the universe contains a divine artisan-fire, which foresees everything,[50] and extending throughout the universe, must produce everything:

Zeno, then, defines nature by saying that it is artistically working fire, which advances by fixed methods to creation. For he maintains that it is the main function of art to create and produce and that what the hand accomplishes in the productions of the arts we employ, is accomplished much more artistically by nature, that is, as I said, by artistically working fire, which is the master of the other arts.[50]

This divine fire,[46] or aether,[51] is the basis for all activity in the universe,[52] operating on otherwise passive matter, which neither increases nor diminishes itself.[53] The primary substance in the universe comes from fire, passes through the stage of air, and then becomes water: the thicker portion becoming earth, and the thinner portion becoming air again, and then rarefying back into fire.[54] Individual souls are part of the same fire as the world-soul of the universe.[55] Following Heraclitus, Zeno adopted the view that the universe underwent regular cycles of formation and destruction.[56]

The nature of the universe is such that it accomplishes what is right and prevents the opposite,[57] and is identified with unconditional Fate,[58] while allowing it the free-will attributed to it.[50] According to Zeno's beliefs, "[t]rue happiness" can only be found by obeying natural laws and living in tune with the course of fate.[59]

Ethics edit

 
Zeno, portrayed as a medieval scholar in the Nuremberg Chronicle

Like the Cynics, Zeno recognised a single, sole and simple good,[60] which is the only goal to strive for.[61] "Happiness is a good flow of life," said Zeno,[62] and this can only be achieved through the use of right reason coinciding with the universal reason (Logos), which governs everything. A bad feeling (pathos) "is a disturbance of the mind repugnant to reason, and against Nature."[63] This consistency of soul, out of which morally good actions spring, is virtue,[64] true good can only consist in virtue.[65]

Zeno deviated from the Cynics in saying that things that are morally adiaphora (indifferent) could nevertheless have value. Things have a relative value in proportion to how they aid the natural instinct for self-preservation.[66] That which is to be preferred is a "fitting action" (kathêkon/καθῆκον), a designation Zeno first introduced. Self-preservation, and the things that contribute towards it, has only a conditional value; it does not aid happiness, which depends only on moral actions.[67]

Just as virtue can only exist within the dominion of reason, so vice can only exist with the rejection of reason. Virtue is absolutely opposed to vice,[68] the two cannot exist in the same thing together, and cannot be increased or decreased;[69] no one moral action is more virtuous than another.[70] All actions are either good or bad, since impulses and desires rest upon free consent,[71] and hence even passive mental states or emotions that are not guided by reason are immoral,[72] and produce immoral actions.[73] Zeno distinguished four negative emotions: desire, fear, pleasure and sorrow (epithumia, phobos, hêdonê, lupê / ἐπιθυμία, φόβος, ἡδονή, λύπη),[74] and he was probably responsible for distinguishing the three corresponding positive emotions: will, caution, and joy (boulêsis, eulabeia, chara / βούλησις, εὐλάβεια, χαρά), with no corresponding rational equivalent for pain. All errors must be rooted out, not merely set aside,[75] and replaced with right reason.

Works edit

None of Zeno's original writings have survived except as fragmentary quotations preserved by later writers. The most famous of his works was his Republic, written in conscious imitation of, or opposition to, Plato's Republic. Although it has not survived, more is known about it than any of his other works. It outlined Zeno's vision of the ideal Stoic society.

A manuscript that was attributed to Zeno, matching a known title of one of Zeno's works, Περὶ φύσεως (On Nature), was discovered in 1949 in an Old Armenian translation. In 1956 it was translated into Russian and published with an extensive commentary.[76] Subsequent philological investigation concluded that the author could not have been Zeno and was instead an anonymous Christian philosopher of the late sixth century or a little later, writing in the tradition of ancient philosophy, but doing so as a Christian. He is now known as Pseudo-Zeno. His work shows an integration of Christian and philosophical concepts, but in a very restrained way.[77]

The titles of many of Zeno's writings are, however, known and are as follows:[78]

  • Ethical writings:
    • Πολιτεία – Republic
    • Περὶ τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν βίου – On Life according to Nature
    • Περὶ ὁρμῆς ἢ Περὶ ἀνθρώπου φύσεως – On Impulse, or on the Nature of Humans
    • Περὶ παθῶν – On Passions
    • Περὶ τοῦ καθήκοντος – On Duty
    • Περὶ νόμου – On Law
    • Περὶ τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς παιδείας – On Greek Education
  • Physical writings:
    • Περὶ ὄψεως – On Sight
    • Περὶ τοῦ ὅλου – On the Universe
    • Περὶ σημείων – On Signs
    • Πυθαγορικά – Pythagorean Doctrines
  • Logical writings:
    • Καθολικά – General Things
    • Περὶ λέξεων
    • Προβλημάτων Ὁμηρικῶν εʹ – Homeric Problems
    • Περὶ ποιητικῆς ἀκροάσεως – On Poetical Readings
  • Other works:
    • Τέχνη
    • Λύσεις – Solutions
    • Ἔλεγχοι βʹ
    • Ἄπομνημονεύματα Κράτητος ἠθικά
    • Περὶ οὐσίας – On Being
    • Περὶ φύσεως – On Nature
    • Περὶ λόγου – On the Logos
    • Εἰς Ἡσιόδου θεογονίαν
    • Διατριβαί – Discourses
    • Χρεῖαι

Notes edit

  1. ^ The dates for Zeno's life are controversial. According to Apollodorus, as quoted by Philodemus, Zeno died in Arrheneides' archonship (262/1 BC). According to Persaeus (Diogenes Laërtius vii. 28), Zeno lived for 72 years. His date of birth is thus 334/3 BC. A plausible chronology for his life is as follows: He was born 334/3 BC, and came to Athens in 312/11 BC at the age of 22 (Laërtius 1925, § 28). He studied philosophy for about 10 years (Laërtius 1925, § 2); opened his own school during Clearchus' archonship in 301/0 BC (Philodemus, On the Stoics, col. 4); and was the head of the school for 39 years and 3 months (Philodemus, On the Stoics, col. 4), and died 262/1 BC. For more information see Ferguson 1911, pp. 185–186; and Dorandi 2005, p. 38
  2. ^ Claims of Zeno's Phoenician descent are often based on the fact that he was often called "Phoenician" by his contemporaries, but such epithets do not necessarily indicate ethnic origin.[11]
  1. ^ "Stoicism – Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy". www.iep.utm.edu. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  2. ^ Bunnin & Yu (2004). The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
  3. ^ Craig, Edward (2005). The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Routledge. p. 1076. ISBN 978-1134344093.
  4. ^ Hadjisavvas, Sophocles (2013). . Vol. I. Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  5. ^ Yon, Marguerite; William A. P. (Nov 1997). "Kition in the Tenth to Fourth Centuries B.C.". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 308 (308): 9–17. doi:10.2307/1357405. JSTOR 1357405. S2CID 156694103.
  6. ^ a b Pearson, Alfred Chilton (1891). The Fragments of Zeno & Cleanthes with Introduction & Explanatory Notes. C.J. Clay & Sons. p. 2. Zeno, the son of Mnaseas', was born at Citium , a Greek city in the south-east of Cyprus, whose population had been increased by Phoenician immigrants. Whether he was of pure Greek blood or not we cannot tell...
  7. ^ Thereianos, Dionysios (1892). Διάγραμμα Στωικής Φιλοσοφίας [Diagram of Stoic Philosophy] (in Greek). Trieste, Austro-Hungarian Empire: Τυπογραφείον του Αυστριακού Λόυδ. p. 27. Αλλ ̓ αὐτὸς οὗτος ὁ Stein, ἀλλαχοῦ τοῦ ἀξιολόγου αὑτοῦ συγγράμματος, παρατηρεῖ «ὅτι δὲν ἐλύθη εἰσέτι ὁριστικῶς τὸ ζήτημα ἂν ὁ Ζήνων κατήγετο ἐκ Φοινίκων ἢ ἐξ Ἑλλήνων»...
  8. ^ a b Whibley, Leonard (2015). A Companion to Greek Studies. Cambridge University Press. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-107-49754-2. Citium in Cyprus, contained Phoenician as well as Greek inhabitants, but there is no real evidence that he was of Phoenician descent.
  9. ^ a b Tarn, W.W. (1952). Hellenistic Civilisation. p. 330.
  10. ^ Max Pohlenz, Die Stoa: Geschichte einer geistigen Bewegung. As reviewed by Phillip de Lacy (October 1, 1951). Reviewed Work: Die Stoa: Geschichte einer geistigen Bewegung by Max Pohlenz. Vol. 46. The University of Chicago Press. pp. 260–262. JSTOR 265746.
  11. ^ Brown, Edwin L. (1981). "The Origin of the Constellation Name 'Cynosura'". Orientalia. 50 (4): 384–402. ISSN 0030-5367. JSTOR 43077542.
  12. ^ Hicks, R. D. (2019). Stoic and Epicurean. Courier Dover Publications. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-486-83960-8.
  13. ^ Bar-Kochva, Bezalel (2016). The Image of the Jews in Greek Literature: The Hellenistic Period. University of California Press. p. 341. ISBN 978-0-520-29084-6.
  14. ^ a b Magill, Frank N. (2003). The Ancient World: Dictionary of World Biography. Vol. 1. Routledge. p. 1273. ISBN 978-1-135-45739-6.
  15. ^ Suda https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-cgi-bin/search.cgi?login=guest&enlogin=guest&db=REAL&field=adlerhw_gr&searchstr=zeta,79 Zeno
  16. ^ "Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book VII, Chapter 1. Zeno (333–261 B.C.)". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  17. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 2–3.
  18. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 1.
  19. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 26–27.
  20. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 3.
  21. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 2, 24.
  22. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 16, 25.
  23. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 16.
  24. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 2; but note that Xenocrates died 314/13 BC
  25. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 2, 25.
  26. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 6–9, 13–15, 36; Epictetus, Discourses, ii. 13. 14–15; Simplicius, in Epictetus Enchiridion, 51; Aelian, Varia Historia, ix. 26
  27. ^ a b Laërtius 1925, § 6–9.
  28. ^ a b Brunt, P. A. (2013). "The Political Attitudes of the Old Stoa". In Griffin, Miriam; Samuels, Alison (eds.). Studies in Stoicism. Oxford University Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0199695850.
  29. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 13, comp. 36.
  30. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 37.
  31. ^ Plutarch, de Stoicor. repugn, p. 1034; comp. Laërtius 1925, § 12.
  32. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 6.
  33. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 16, comp. 26; Sidonius Apollinaris, Epistles, ix. 9
  34. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 14.
  35. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 15.
  36. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 18, 22.
  37. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 18–25.
  38. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 28.
  39. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 30.
  40. ^ a b Laërtius 1925, § 6, 11.
  41. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 10–12.
  42. ^ Cicero, Academica, ii. 20.
  43. ^ Cicero, de Finibus, iv. 4.
  44. ^ Sextus Empiricus, adv. Math. vii. 253.
  45. ^ Cicero, Academica, ii. 6, 24.
  46. ^ a b Cicero, Academica, i. 11.
  47. ^ Cicero, Academica, 2.145 [47]
  48. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 148.
  49. ^ Sextus Empiricus, adv. Math. ix. 104, 101; Cicero, de Natura Deorum, ii. 8.
  50. ^ a b c Cicero, de Natura Deorum, ii. 22.
  51. ^ Cicero, Academica, ii. 41.
  52. ^ Cicero, de Natura Deorum, ii. 9, iii. 14.
  53. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 150.
  54. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 142, comp. 136.
  55. ^ Cicero, Tusculanae Quaestiones, i. 9, de Natura Deorum, iii. 14; Laërtius 1925, § 156.
  56. ^ Stobaeus, Ecl. Phys. i.[full citation needed]
  57. ^ Cicero, de Natura Deorum, i. 14.
  58. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 88, 148, etc., 156.
  59. ^ Caldwell, Wallace E.; Merrill, Edward H. (1964). History of the World. Vol. 1. United States: The Greystone Press. p. 119.
  60. ^ Cicero, Academica, i. 10. 35–36 : "Zeno igitur nullo modo is erat qui ut Theophrastus nervos virtutis inciderit, sed contra qui omnia quae ad beatam vitam pertinerent in una virtute poneret nec quicquam aliud numeraret hi bonis idque appellaret honestum quod esset simplex quoddam et solum et unum bonum."
  61. ^ Cicero, de Finibus, iii. 6. 8; comp. Laërtius 1925, § 100, etc.
  62. ^ Stobaeus, 2.77.
  63. ^ Cicero, Tusculanae Quaestiones, iv. 6.
  64. ^ Cicero, Tusculanae Quaestiones, iv. 15.
  65. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 102, 127.
  66. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 85; Cicero, de Finibus, iii. 5, 15, iv. 10, v. 9, Academica, i. 16.
  67. ^ Cicero, de Finibus, iii. 13.
  68. ^ Cicero, Tusculanae Quaestiones, iv. 13, Academica, i. 10, de Finibus, iii. 21, iv. 9, Parad. iii. 1; Laërtius 1925, § 127.
  69. ^ Cicero, de Finibus, iii. 14, etc.
  70. ^ Cicero, de Finibus, iii. 14; Sextus Empiricus, adv. Math. vii. 422.
  71. ^ Cicero, Tusculanae Quaestiones, iv. 9, Academica, i. 10.
  72. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 110; Cicero, Tusculanae Quaestiones, iv. 6. 14.
  73. ^ Cicero, de Finibus, iv. 38; Plutarch, de Virt. mor.
  74. ^ Cicero, Tusculanae Quaestiones, iv. 6; Laërtius 1925, § 110.
  75. ^ Cicero, Tusculanae Quaestiones, iv. 18, etc.
  76. ^ Аревшатян, C. "Трактат Зенона Стоика "О Природе" и его древнеармянский перевод" (PDF). Вестник Матенадарана. 1956. – № 3.: 315–342. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09.
  77. ^ M E Stone and M E Shirinian, Pseudo-Zeno: Anonymous Philosophical Treatise December 1, 1999, p. 18
  78. ^ Laërtius 1925, § 4.

References edit

  • Dorandi, Tiziano (2005). "Chapter 2: Chronology". In Algra, Keimpe; et al. (eds.). The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0521616706.
  • Ferguson, William Scott (1911). Hellenistic Athens: An Historical Essay. London: Macmillan. pp. 185–186.
  •   Laërtius, Diogenes (1925). "The Stoics: Zeno" . Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 2:7. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library. § 1–160.
  • Marshall, Peter (1993). Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism. Oakland, California: PM Press. ISBN 978-1604860641.

Further reading edit

  • Dawson, Doyne (1992). Cities of the Gods: Communist Utopias in Greek Thought. Oxford University Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Holiday, Ryan; Hanselman, Stephen (2020). "Zeno the Prophet". Lives of the Stoics. New York: Portfolio/Penguin. pp. 1–10. ISBN 978-0525541875.
  • Hunt, Harold. A Physical Interpretation of the Universe. The Doctrines of Zeno the Stoic. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1976. ISBN 0522841007
  • Long, Anthony A., Sedley, David N. The Hellenistic Philosophers, Volume 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987. ISBN 0521275563
  • Mason, Theodore; Scaltsas, Andrew S., eds. (2002). The philosophy of Zeno: Zeno of Citium and his legacy. Municipality of Larnaca. ISBN 978-9963603237.
  • Pearson, Alfred C. , (1891). Greek/Latin fragments with English commentary.
  • Reale, Giovanni. A History of Ancient Philosophy. III. The systems of the Hellenistic Age, (translated by John R. Catan, 1985 Zeno, the Foundation of the Stoa, and the Different Phases of Stoicism)
  • Schofield, Malcolm. The Stoic Idea of the City. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. ISBN 0226740064

External links edit

First Leader of the Stoic school
300–262 BC
Succeeded by

zeno, citium, confused, with, zeno, elea, this, article, about, hellenistic, philosopher, other, uses, zeno, koinē, greek, Ζήνων, Κιτιεύς, zēnōn, kitieus, hellenistic, philosopher, from, citium, Κίτιον, kition, cyprus, founder, stoic, school, philosophy, which. Not to be confused with Zeno of Elea This article is about the Hellenistic philosopher For other uses see Zeno Zeno of Citium ˈ z iː n oʊ Koine Greek Zhnwn ὁ Kitieys Zenōn ho Kitieus c 334 c 262 BC was a Hellenistic philosopher from Citium Kition Kition Cyprus 3 He was the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC Based on the moral ideas of the Cynics Stoicism laid great emphasis on goodness and peace of mind gained from living a life of virtue in accordance with nature It proved very popular and flourished as one of the major schools of philosophy from the Hellenistic period through to the Roman era and enjoyed revivals in the Renaissance as Neostoicism and in the current era as Modern Stoicism Zeno of CitiumZeno of Citium Bust in the Farnese collection Naples Photo by Paolo Monti 1969 Bornc 334 BCCitium CyprusDiedc 262 BC aged 71 72 AthensEraHellenistic philosophyRegionWestern philosophySchoolStoicismMain interestsLogic Physics EthicsNotable ideasFounder of Stoicism three branches of philosophy physics ethics logic 1 Logos rationality of human nature phantasiai katalepsis world citizenship 2 Contents 1 Life 2 Philosophy 2 1 Logic 2 2 Physics 2 3 Ethics 3 Works 4 Notes 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksLife editZeno was born c 334 BC a in the Phoenician colony Citium in Cyprus 4 5 His ancestry is disputed between Phoenician and Greek 6 7 because Citium contained both Phoenician and Greek inhabitants 6 8 While most contemporary and modern historians regard Zeno as a Phoenician 9 10 some modern scholars have contested this arguing for a Greek b 8 or Greco Phoenician background 12 The only things that historians know with certainty are that Zeno had a Greek name a Greek higher education and that there is no evidence he knew a language other than Greek 13 His father Mnaseas had a name ambiguously meaningful both in Phoenician one causing to forget and in Greek mindful 14 His mother and her name are not recorded 14 Most of the details known about his life come from the biography and anecdotes preserved by Diogenes Laertius in his Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers written in the 3rd century AD a few of which are confirmed by the Suda a 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia 15 Diogenes reports that Zeno s interest in philosophy began when he consulted the oracle to know what he should do to attain the best life and that the gods response was that he should take on the complexion of the dead Whereupon perceiving what this meant he studied ancient authors 16 Zeno became a wealthy merchant On a voyage from Phoenicia to Peiraeus he survived a shipwreck after which he went to Athens and visited a bookseller There he encountered Xenophon s Memorabilia He was so pleased with the book s portrayal of Socrates that he asked the bookseller where men like Socrates were to be found Just then Crates of Thebes the most famous Cynic living at that time in Greece happened to be walking by and the bookseller pointed to him 17 Zeno is described as a haggard dark skinned person 18 living a spare ascetic life 19 despite his wealth This coincides with the influences of Cynic teaching and was at least in part continued in his Stoic philosophy From the day Zeno became Crates pupil he showed a strong bent for philosophy though with too much native modesty to assimilate Cynic shamelessness Hence Crates desirous of curing this defect in him gave him a potful of lentil soup to carry through the Ceramicus the pottery district and when he saw that Zeno was ashamed and tried to keep it out of sight Crates broke the pot with a blow of his staff As Zeno began to run off in embarrassment with the lentil soup flowing down his legs Crates chided Why run away my little Phoenician Nothing terrible has befallen you 20 Apart from Crates Zeno studied under the philosophers of the Megarian school including Stilpo 21 and the dialecticians Diodorus Cronus 22 and Philo 23 He is also said to have studied Platonist philosophy under the direction of Xenocrates 24 and Polemo 25 Zeno began teaching in the colonnade in the Agora of Athens known as the Stoa Poikile Greek Stoὰ Poikilh in 301 BC His disciples were initially called Zenonians but eventually they came to be known as Stoics a name previously applied to poets who congregated in the Stoa Poikile Among the admirers of Zeno was king Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia 26 who whenever he came to Athens would visit Zeno Zeno is said to have declined an invitation to visit Antigonus in Macedonia although their supposed correspondence preserved by Laertius 27 is undoubtedly the invention of a later writer 28 Zeno instead sent his friend and disciple Persaeus 27 who had lived with Zeno in his house 29 Among Zeno s other pupils there were Aristo of Chios Sphaerus and Cleanthes who succeeded Zeno as the head scholarch of the Stoic school in Athens 30 Zeno is said to have declined Athenian citizenship when it was offered to him fearing that he would appear unfaithful to his native land 31 where he was highly esteemed and where he contributed to the restoration of its baths after which his name was inscribed upon a pillar there as Zeno the philosopher 32 We are also told that Zeno was of an earnest gloomy disposition 33 that he preferred the company of the few to the many 34 that he was fond of burying himself in investigations 35 and that he disliked verbose and elaborate speeches 36 Diogenes Laertius has preserved many clever and witty remarks by Zeno 37 although these anecdotes are generally considered unreliable 28 Zeno died around 262 BC a Laertius reports about his death As he was leaving the school he tripped and fell breaking his toe Striking the ground with his fist he quoted the line from the Niobe I come I come why dost thou call for me and died on the spot through holding his breath 38 At Zeno s funeral an epitaph was composed for him stating And if thy native country was Phoenicia What need to slight thee Came not Cadmus thence Who gave to Greece her books and art of writing 39 This signified that even though Zeno was of non Greek background the Greeks still respected him comparing him to the legendary Phoenician hero Cadmus who had brought the alphabet to the Greeks as Zeno had brought Stoicism to them and was described as the noblest man of his age with a bronze statue being built in his honor 9 40 During his lifetime Zeno received appreciation for his philosophical and pedagogical teachings Among other things Zeno was honored with the golden crown 40 and a tomb was built in honor of his moral influence on the youth of his era 41 The crater Zeno on the Moon is named in his honour Philosophy edit nbsp Modern bust of Zeno in AthensFollowing the ideas of the Old Academy Zeno divided philosophy into three parts logic a wide subject including rhetoric grammar and the theories of perception and thought physics not just science but the divine nature of the universe as well and ethics the end goal of which was to achieve eudaimonia through the right way of living according to Nature Because Zeno s ideas were later expanded upon by Chrysippus and other Stoics it can be difficult to determine precisely what he thought But his general views can be outlined as follows nbsp Socrates Plato Pythagoras Aristotle amp Zeno by Francois PouquevilleLogic edit In his treatment of logic Zeno was influenced by Stilpo and the other Megarians Zeno urged the need to lay down a basis for logic because the wise person must know how to avoid deception 42 Cicero accused Zeno of being inferior to his philosophical predecessors in his treatment of logic 43 and it seems true that a more exact treatment of the subject was laid down by his successors including Chrysippus 44 Zeno divided true conceptions into the comprehensible and the incomprehensible 45 permitting for free will the power of assent sinkatathesis synkata8esis in distinguishing between sense impressions 46 Zeno said that there were four stages in the process leading to true knowledge which he illustrated with the example of the flat extended hand and the gradual closing of the fist Zeno stretched out his fingers and showed the palm of his hand Perception he said is a thing like this Then when he had closed his fingers a little Assent is like this Afterwards when he had completely closed his hand and showed his fist that he said was Comprehension From which simile he also gave that state a new name calling it katalepsis katalhpsis But when he brought his left hand against his right and with it took a firm and tight hold of his fist Knowledge he said was of that character and that was what none but a wise person possessed 47 Physics edit The universe in Zeno s view is God 48 a divine reasoning entity where all the parts belong to the whole 49 Into this pantheistic system he incorporated the physics of Heraclitus the universe contains a divine artisan fire which foresees everything 50 and extending throughout the universe must produce everything Zeno then defines nature by saying that it is artistically working fire which advances by fixed methods to creation For he maintains that it is the main function of art to create and produce and that what the hand accomplishes in the productions of the arts we employ is accomplished much more artistically by nature that is as I said by artistically working fire which is the master of the other arts 50 This divine fire 46 or aether 51 is the basis for all activity in the universe 52 operating on otherwise passive matter which neither increases nor diminishes itself 53 The primary substance in the universe comes from fire passes through the stage of air and then becomes water the thicker portion becoming earth and the thinner portion becoming air again and then rarefying back into fire 54 Individual souls are part of the same fire as the world soul of the universe 55 Following Heraclitus Zeno adopted the view that the universe underwent regular cycles of formation and destruction 56 The nature of the universe is such that it accomplishes what is right and prevents the opposite 57 and is identified with unconditional Fate 58 while allowing it the free will attributed to it 50 According to Zeno s beliefs t rue happiness can only be found by obeying natural laws and living in tune with the course of fate 59 Ethics edit nbsp Zeno portrayed as a medieval scholar in the Nuremberg ChronicleLike the Cynics Zeno recognised a single sole and simple good 60 which is the only goal to strive for 61 Happiness is a good flow of life said Zeno 62 and this can only be achieved through the use of right reason coinciding with the universal reason Logos which governs everything A bad feeling pathos is a disturbance of the mind repugnant to reason and against Nature 63 This consistency of soul out of which morally good actions spring is virtue 64 true good can only consist in virtue 65 Zeno deviated from the Cynics in saying that things that are morally adiaphora indifferent could nevertheless have value Things have a relative value in proportion to how they aid the natural instinct for self preservation 66 That which is to be preferred is a fitting action kathekon ka8ῆkon a designation Zeno first introduced Self preservation and the things that contribute towards it has only a conditional value it does not aid happiness which depends only on moral actions 67 Just as virtue can only exist within the dominion of reason so vice can only exist with the rejection of reason Virtue is absolutely opposed to vice 68 the two cannot exist in the same thing together and cannot be increased or decreased 69 no one moral action is more virtuous than another 70 All actions are either good or bad since impulses and desires rest upon free consent 71 and hence even passive mental states or emotions that are not guided by reason are immoral 72 and produce immoral actions 73 Zeno distinguished four negative emotions desire fear pleasure and sorrow epithumia phobos hedone lupe ἐpi8ymia fobos ἡdonh lyph 74 and he was probably responsible for distinguishing the three corresponding positive emotions will caution and joy boulesis eulabeia chara boylhsis eὐlabeia xara with no corresponding rational equivalent for pain All errors must be rooted out not merely set aside 75 and replaced with right reason Works editNone of Zeno s original writings have survived except as fragmentary quotations preserved by later writers The most famous of his works was his Republic written in conscious imitation of or opposition to Plato s Republic Although it has not survived more is known about it than any of his other works It outlined Zeno s vision of the ideal Stoic society A manuscript that was attributed to Zeno matching a known title of one of Zeno s works Perὶ fysews On Nature was discovered in 1949 in an Old Armenian translation In 1956 it was translated into Russian and published with an extensive commentary 76 Subsequent philological investigation concluded that the author could not have been Zeno and was instead an anonymous Christian philosopher of the late sixth century or a little later writing in the tradition of ancient philosophy but doing so as a Christian He is now known as Pseudo Zeno His work shows an integration of Christian and philosophical concepts but in a very restrained way 77 The titles of many of Zeno s writings are however known and are as follows 78 Ethical writings Politeia Republic Perὶ toῦ katὰ fysin bioy On Life according to Nature Perὶ ὁrmῆs ἢ Perὶ ἀn8rwpoy fysews On Impulse or on the Nature of Humans Perὶ pa8ῶn On Passions Perὶ toῦ ka8hkontos On Duty Perὶ nomoy On Law Perὶ tῆs Ἑllhnikῆs paideias On Greek Education Physical writings Perὶ ὄpsews On Sight Perὶ toῦ ὅloy On the Universe Perὶ shmeiwn On Signs Py8agorika Pythagorean Doctrines Logical writings Ka8olika General Things Perὶ le3ewn Problhmatwn Ὁmhrikῶn eʹ Homeric Problems Perὶ poihtikῆs ἀkroasews On Poetical Readings Other works Texnh Lyseis Solutions Ἔlegxoi bʹ Ἄpomnhmoneymata Krathtos ἠ8ika Perὶ oὐsias On Being Perὶ fysews On Nature Perὶ logoy On the Logos Eἰs Ἡsiodoy 8eogonian Diatribai Discourses XreῖaiNotes edit The dates for Zeno s life are controversial According to Apollodorus as quoted by Philodemus Zeno died in Arrheneides archonship 262 1 BC According to Persaeus Diogenes Laertius vii 28 Zeno lived for 72 years His date of birth is thus 334 3 BC A plausible chronology for his life is as follows He was born 334 3 BC and came to Athens in 312 11 BC at the age of 22 Laertius 1925 28 He studied philosophy for about 10 years Laertius 1925 2 opened his own school during Clearchus archonship in 301 0 BC Philodemus On the Stoics col 4 and was the head of the school for 39 years and 3 months Philodemus On the Stoics col 4 and died 262 1 BC For more information see Ferguson 1911 pp 185 186 and Dorandi 2005 p 38 Claims of Zeno s Phoenician descent are often based on the fact that he was often called Phoenician by his contemporaries but such epithets do not necessarily indicate ethnic origin 11 Stoicism Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy www iep utm edu Retrieved 19 March 2018 Bunnin amp Yu 2004 The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy Oxford Blackwell Publishing Craig Edward 2005 The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Routledge p 1076 ISBN 978 1134344093 Hadjisavvas Sophocles 2013 The Phoenician Period Necropolis of Kition Vol I Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications p 1 Archived from the original on 2016 03 04 Yon Marguerite William A P Nov 1997 Kition in the Tenth to Fourth Centuries B C Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 308 308 9 17 doi 10 2307 1357405 JSTOR 1357405 S2CID 156694103 a b Pearson Alfred Chilton 1891 The Fragments of Zeno amp Cleanthes with Introduction amp Explanatory Notes C J Clay amp Sons p 2 Zeno the son of Mnaseas was born at Citium a Greek city in the south east of Cyprus whose population had been increased by Phoenician immigrants Whether he was of pure Greek blood or not we cannot tell Thereianos Dionysios 1892 Diagramma Stwikhs Filosofias Diagram of Stoic Philosophy in Greek Trieste Austro Hungarian Empire Typografeion toy Aystriakoy Loyd p 27 All aὐtὸs oὗtos ὁ Stein ἀllaxoῦ toῦ ἀ3iologoy aὑtoῦ syggrammatos parathreῖ ὅti dὲn ἐly8h eἰseti ὁristikῶs tὸ zhthma ἂn ὁ Zhnwn kathgeto ἐk Foinikwn ἢ ἐ3 Ἑllhnwn a b Whibley Leonard 2015 A Companion to Greek Studies Cambridge University Press p 219 ISBN 978 1 107 49754 2 Citium in Cyprus contained Phoenician as well as Greek inhabitants but there is no real evidence that he was of Phoenician descent a b Tarn W W 1952 Hellenistic Civilisation p 330 Max Pohlenz Die Stoa Geschichte einer geistigen Bewegung As reviewed by Phillip de Lacy October 1 1951 Reviewed Work Die Stoa Geschichte einer geistigen Bewegung by Max Pohlenz Vol 46 The University of Chicago Press pp 260 262 JSTOR 265746 Brown Edwin L 1981 The Origin of the Constellation Name Cynosura Orientalia 50 4 384 402 ISSN 0030 5367 JSTOR 43077542 Hicks R D 2019 Stoic and Epicurean Courier Dover Publications p 4 ISBN 978 0 486 83960 8 Bar Kochva Bezalel 2016 The Image of the Jews in Greek Literature The Hellenistic Period University of California Press p 341 ISBN 978 0 520 29084 6 a b Magill Frank N 2003 The Ancient World Dictionary of World Biography Vol 1 Routledge p 1273 ISBN 978 1 135 45739 6 Suda https www cs uky edu raphael sol sol cgi bin search cgi login guest amp enlogin guest amp db REAL amp field adlerhw gr amp searchstr zeta 79 Zeno Diogenes Laertius Lives of Eminent Philosophers Book VII Chapter 1 Zeno 333 261 B C www perseus tufts edu Retrieved 19 March 2018 Laertius 1925 2 3 Laertius 1925 1 Laertius 1925 26 27 Laertius 1925 3 Laertius 1925 2 24 Laertius 1925 16 25 Laertius 1925 16 Laertius 1925 2 but note that Xenocrates died 314 13 BC Laertius 1925 2 25 Laertius 1925 6 9 13 15 36 Epictetus Discourses ii 13 14 15 Simplicius in Epictetus Enchiridion 51 Aelian Varia Historia ix 26 a b Laertius 1925 6 9 a b Brunt P A 2013 The Political Attitudes of the Old Stoa In Griffin Miriam Samuels Alison eds Studies in Stoicism Oxford University Press p 87 ISBN 978 0199695850 Laertius 1925 13 comp 36 Laertius 1925 37 Plutarch de Stoicor repugn p 1034 comp Laertius 1925 12 Laertius 1925 6 Laertius 1925 16 comp 26 Sidonius Apollinaris Epistles ix 9 Laertius 1925 14 Laertius 1925 15 Laertius 1925 18 22 Laertius 1925 18 25 Laertius 1925 28 Laertius 1925 30 a b Laertius 1925 6 11 Laertius 1925 10 12 Cicero Academica ii 20 Cicero de Finibus iv 4 Sextus Empiricus adv Math vii 253 Cicero Academica ii 6 24 a b Cicero Academica i 11 Cicero Academica 2 145 47 Laertius 1925 148 Sextus Empiricus adv Math ix 104 101 Cicero de Natura Deorum ii 8 a b c Cicero de Natura Deorum ii 22 Cicero Academica ii 41 Cicero de Natura Deorum ii 9 iii 14 Laertius 1925 150 Laertius 1925 142 comp 136 Cicero Tusculanae Quaestiones i 9 de Natura Deorum iii 14 Laertius 1925 156 Stobaeus Ecl Phys i full citation needed Cicero de Natura Deorum i 14 Laertius 1925 88 148 etc 156 Caldwell Wallace E Merrill Edward H 1964 History of the World Vol 1 United States The Greystone Press p 119 Cicero Academica i 10 35 36 Zeno igitur nullo modo is erat qui ut Theophrastus nervos virtutis inciderit sed contra qui omnia quae ad beatam vitam pertinerent in una virtute poneret nec quicquam aliud numeraret hi bonis idque appellaret honestum quod esset simplex quoddam et solum et unum bonum Cicero de Finibus iii 6 8 comp Laertius 1925 100 etc Stobaeus 2 77 Cicero Tusculanae Quaestiones iv 6 Cicero Tusculanae Quaestiones iv 15 Laertius 1925 102 127 Laertius 1925 85 Cicero de Finibus iii 5 15 iv 10 v 9 Academica i 16 Cicero de Finibus iii 13 Cicero Tusculanae Quaestiones iv 13 Academica i 10 de Finibus iii 21 iv 9 Parad iii 1 Laertius 1925 127 Cicero de Finibus iii 14 etc Cicero de Finibus iii 14 Sextus Empiricus adv Math vii 422 Cicero Tusculanae Quaestiones iv 9 Academica i 10 Laertius 1925 110 Cicero Tusculanae Quaestiones iv 6 14 Cicero de Finibus iv 38 Plutarch de Virt mor Cicero Tusculanae Quaestiones iv 6 Laertius 1925 110 Cicero Tusculanae Quaestiones iv 18 etc Arevshatyan C Traktat Zenona Stoika O Prirode i ego drevnearmyanskij perevod PDF Vestnik Matenadarana 1956 3 315 342 Archived PDF from the original on 2022 10 09 M E Stone and M E Shirinian Pseudo Zeno Anonymous Philosophical Treatise December 1 1999 p 18 Laertius 1925 4 References editDorandi Tiziano 2005 Chapter 2 Chronology In Algra Keimpe et al eds The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 38 ISBN 978 0521616706 Ferguson William Scott 1911 Hellenistic Athens An Historical Essay London Macmillan pp 185 186 nbsp Laertius Diogenes 1925 The Stoics Zeno Lives of the Eminent Philosophers Vol 2 7 Translated by Hicks Robert Drew Two volume ed Loeb Classical Library 1 160 Marshall Peter 1993 Demanding the Impossible A History of Anarchism Oakland California PM Press ISBN 978 1604860641 Further reading editDawson Doyne 1992 Cities of the Gods Communist Utopias in Greek Thought Oxford University Press ISBN missing Holiday Ryan Hanselman Stephen 2020 Zeno the Prophet Lives of the Stoics New York Portfolio Penguin pp 1 10 ISBN 978 0525541875 Hunt Harold A Physical Interpretation of the Universe The Doctrines of Zeno the Stoic Melbourne Melbourne University Press 1976 ISBN 0522841007 Long Anthony A Sedley David N The Hellenistic Philosophers Volume 1 Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1987 ISBN 0521275563 Mason Theodore Scaltsas Andrew S eds 2002 The philosophy of Zeno Zeno of Citium and his legacy Municipality of Larnaca ISBN 978 9963603237 Pearson Alfred C Fragments of Zeno and Cleanthes 1891 Greek Latin fragments with English commentary Reale Giovanni A History of Ancient Philosophy III The systems of the Hellenistic Age translated by John R Catan 1985 Zeno the Foundation of the Stoa and the Different Phases of Stoicism Schofield Malcolm The Stoic Idea of the City Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1991 ISBN 0226740064External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Zeno of Citium nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zeno of Citium Zeno of Citium by Robin Turner in Sensible Marks of Ideas Zeno of Cittium founder of Stoicism by Paul Harrison Selected Bibliography on the Early Stoic Logicians Zeno Cleanthes Chrysippus https cordis europa eu project id 101086695 itFirst Leader of the Stoic school300 262 BC Succeeded byCleanthes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Zeno of Citium amp oldid 1213314174, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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