 In recent years, Stoicism has been on the rise, but where and by who was it started? Here in this video, we'll explore the life and mind of the man behind this philosophy, Zeno of Scytium. Born the son of a merchant around 336 BCE on the southern coast of Cyprus in a Greek city named Petyon, Zeno had plans to take after his father as a merchant. This is, until he became shipwrecked in Athens around the age of 22. While in Athens, Zeno obtained a copy of Xenophon's memorabilia. Astounded and impressed by Xenophon's account of Socrates, he took to philosophy. Zeno was quoted saying, I made a prosperous voyage when I was shipwrecked, speaking of course of his discovery of philosophy. As a young man, Zeno studied under multiple names including crates of Thebes, Stilpo the Magarian, and eventually becoming a pupil of Paul-Imon. He did not subscribe completely to any one doctrine or creed, but instead took aspects from each such as the belief that the greatest fall lay in saying yes too quickly to any request, for avoiding this will allow one to live a tranquil life. Around the age of 35 and the year 300 BCE, Zeno started a school of philosophy originally known as Xenoism, later to be changed to the name Stoicism after the Stoopoical, or painted porch of the arcade in the Athenian marketplace. In this school, Zeno argued as said by Professor Forrest E. Bard that virtue and not pleasure was the only good, and that natural law, not the random swerving of atoms, was the key principle of the universe. As we enter into the discussion on the teachings of Zeno, it is important to understand that no one of his works survived through the ages, but instead his ideals were passed along by other Stoics, notably Chrysippus and Epictetus, of which in the case of Epictetus also only survived through the writings of his students. Zeno placed great importance on self-awareness, and believed that through self-awareness one is also aware of others. He said that man conquers the world by conquering himself. In order for an individual to achieve this, they must understand what is and what is not under their control. Take this scenario proposed by Zeno to better understand why this is necessary. When a dog is tied to a cart, if it wants to follow, it is pulled and follows, making its spontaneous act coincide with necessity. But if the dog does not follow, it will be compelled in any case. So it is with men too. Even if they didn't want to, they will be compelled to follow what is destined. Secondly, Zeno believed that reason and not pleasure should be sought, as well as that all things are in permanent and without lasting value. That suffering came from the desire of what one did not have or what they feared losing. Zeno also wrote like Plato a work of literature by the name of Republic, but with of course different contents. Of the secondary accounts of the writings of Zeno, this Republic is perhaps the most accurate account of his teachings and what he believed. Even during the time of his study under the Cretes of Thebes, the Republic, like Plato's, is Zeno's view on what a utopian society should be or resemble. These view may have derived from Zeno's observation of Cretes and his family. Cretes' spouse and daughter stood on equal footing with Cretes himself, teaching philosophy to men and even wearing men's clothes. In Zeno's Republic, this concept that men and women are seen as complete equals is universal and accepted by all as true. These utopian citizens claim the universe as their home and live in accordance with nature. All decisions are through reason, which means there is no injustice, no crime, no greed, no hatred. This also means there are no laws. All citizens understood this and understood that they had all they needed and thus wanted for nothing more. While human nature asserts this to be unrealistic, these ideals are certainly agreed to be noble and virtuous. A quote from Zeno shows his view on equality. He said no matter whether you claim a slave by purchase or capture, the title is bad. They who claim to own their fellow men look down into the pit and forget the justice that should rule this world. One of life's ultimate goals is happiness, and for the Stoics this goal of happiness or as they refer to as eudaimonia can only be achieved through reason. Zeno stated happiness is a good flow of life. One must coincide with the universal reason or logos and avoid any disturbances of the mind or pathos. This can only be won through virtue. And while this may sound somewhat circular, virtue can only exist through reason. The opposite of virtue is vice, and only through the rejection of reason is vice rooted. Zeno's philosophy was something of a middle ground between cynicism and the stoicism of later Stoics such as Marcus Aurelius. His worldview is likely more closely related to a philosophy such as Taoism. Zeno's death was peculiar if related accurately. As told by Diogenes Laertius, Zeno, while leaving the school one day, tripped and fell, and in the process broke his toe. After this occurred, he struck the ground with his fist and quoted a line from the Nairobi of Timothyus. I come, I come, why douse thou call for me? Following this, Zeno died, either as stated from one account from holding his breath, but more likely from self-strangulation. While this cause of death may be the strangest of the ancient philosophers, perhaps for him a man who exalted reason may have thought that his life had been good and sufficient, and because of this not wished to be unreasonable or irrational in hoping for his pleasant past to be relived, concluding that it was his time to move on. Zeno was venerated for his temperance and for embodying the principles of which he taught, for living and dying by his word. The philosophy in which he founded was continued and progressed by other great minds such as Chrysippus, Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, a philosophy available to all and a philosophy invaluable to the harsh world of the Greeks and Romans. This philosophy can also be invaluable to you in the increasingly chaotic world that we live in. Make sure you subscribe if you enjoyed this video and want to hear more about Eastern and Western philosophy. See in the description below for the sources of much of the information used in this video. Thanks so much for talking philosophy with me, sticking to the end. Until next time.