Stoicism

Despite his reputation as a philosopher, Seneca was also a prolific writer of drama. His Apocolocyntosis and his lost speeches are a reminder of his literary talent. Seneca was a Stoic, but he was also open to ideas from other philosophies. He often felt free to disagree with earlier Stoics, as he did in Letter 33, where he refers to Stoicism as 'ours' and is willing to agree with certain Peripatetic and Epicurean attacks on the philosophy.

Part of what makes Stoicism fascinating to examine is the fact that three of its most well-known practitioners represented a wide spectrum of social positions. Consider Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Empire's emperor and one of the world's most powerful figures. Consider Seneca, an emperor's adviser, a renowned playwright, and one of the Roman Empire's wealthiest people. On the other hand, Epictetus, born into slavery, is the polar opposite. Stoicism is so powerful: it can provide timeless idea...

Our story begins with Zeno of Cyprus, son of a merchant and a merchant himself. On one of his trips transporting purple dye from Phoenicia to Peiraeus, fate had other plans for him. Shipwrecked in Athens, he decided to bide his time in a nearby bookshop, as one does. He found works from some of the most influential and prominent philosophers of his time. Just like many of us with our first interaction into the intrepid and mindboggling world of philosophical thinking, he was hooked.