If you were to ask someone to name a stoic philosopher, they’d probably list off one of the three golden stoics: Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus.

And honestly, that’s a pretty typical response as they’re the only ones who have a significant amount of published works still around today.

Everyone else, like Chrysippus or Musonius Rufus have so little works remaining that no one really thinks about them.

And it’s not that they didn’t write anything, it’s just over the last 2,000 years their books and notes have been destroyed or lost over time.

Another stoic philosopher who falls under this category is Zeno of Citium.

In fact, he was the one who founded Stoicism.

Today, you can only find fragments of his notes, but the story behind how he founded Stoicism is still being told today.

At a young age, Zeno was a merchant by trade, following in the footsteps of his family who dealt with purple dye, which at the time, was a luxury product.

During one of his trading voyages, his ship was wrecked and he lost his entire cargo of dyes and merchandise. Luckily, he was able to make it to the shore of Athen’s with his life, but without a penny to his name.

One day, Zeno found himself wandering into a bookshop and began reading Xenophon’s book titled Memorabilia. A work about the life and teachings of Socrates.

He was fascinated by Socrates ideas and asked the bookseller where he could find someone that would teach him more. By coincidence, a well-known Cynic philosopher by the name Crates of Thebes was walking by just outside the shop.

Zeno ran outside and would go on to become his student. He learned all about rejecting material possessions and how to embrace discomfort.

However, after a few years of studying under Thebes, he found Cynicism a little too extreme for his taste and went on to discover a more balanced philosophy that could be practiced by ordinary people.

Around 300 BC, Zeno began teaching his own philosophy in Athens. Unlike other philosophers who taught in private schools, Zeno chose to teach in a more open space accessible to everyone. Specifically, the painted porch outside the Athenian Agora (Imagine an open-air farmers market).

People began to associate Zeno’s philosophy with this painted porch so much, they began to call his philosophy Stoicism as the greek word for Painted Porch is Stoa Poikile.

It symbolized the accessibility of Stoicism and that it was meant for everyone. At the time, his teachings varied from mastering ones character and overcoming life’s challenges.

Over time, his lessons attracted more and more people like Cleanthes and Chrysippus who all added their own flare to Stoicism. Eventually, it went on to become one of the most prominent schools in the Roman Empire.

One of his most famous quotes is how he recognized that it was his shipwreck that led him onto the path of wisdom. In some ways, he was the first person to believe everything happens for a reason.

Zeno might not have as much surviving works as Marcus Aurelius or Epictetus, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less important. In fact, it might make him more interesting since there’s so little of him left in history.

But take his story as a lesson that even though you might lose it all, it doesn’t mean something better isn’t bound to come of it.

Until next time,
Isaiah Taylor

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