Zeno of Citium (; Koine Greek: Ζήνων ὁ Κιτιεύς, Zēnōn ho Kitieus; c. 334 – c. 262 BC) was a Hellenistic philosopher from Citium (Κίτιον, Kition), Cyprus. 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.
Life Zeno was born c. 334 BC, in the city of Citium in Cyprus. His ancestry has been described as Phoenician or as Greek, because Citium contained both Phoenician and Greek inhabitants. Such interpretation reflects early post-Victorian scholarship, which often equated culture with ancestry and failed to recognise the distinct, syncretic identity of ancient Cyprus — a society that integrated Greek and Near Eastern influences within its own local traditions. While a number of contemporary and modern historians regard Zeno as a Phoenician, other modern scholars have contested this arguing for a Greek or Greco-Phoenician background. He had a Greek name, a Greek higher education and that there is no evidence he knew a language other than Greek, but in a carbonised papyrus from Herculaneum he is "mocked for his poor command of the Greek language". His father, Mnaseas, had a name ambiguously meaningful both in Phoenician ("one causing to forget") and in Greek ("mindful"). His mother and her name are not recorded. Zeno received a Greek education and spent most of his life in Athens, where he founded the Stoic school of philosophy. He became a respected figure in Athenian society and was honoured with a public funeral after his death. 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). 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." Parallel to his inquiries, 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.
Diogenes Laërtius describes Zeno as a haggard, dark-skinned person, living a spare, ascetic life 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 Anaideia; Cynic “shamelessness” and the disregard for societal norms in favor of freedom. An example of this may be found in the writings of Apuleius who narrates an incident where Crates and Hipparchia, his wife and fellow Cynic, engaged in a public act of sexual intercourse and, as such, drew a crowd. Zeno, upon catching sight of this, covered them both with his cloak so as to prevent bystanders from witnessing the copulating couple, displaying his own inability to be apathetic to the expectations of society. 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." According to his contemporaries, Zeno was attracted only to boys and other men, and Diogenes Laërtius mentions by name at least one with whom he was enamored, a young man named Chremonides (who may or may not be the Athenian statesman and general Chremonides). Apart from Crates, Zeno studied under the philosophers of the Megarian school, including Stilpo, and the dialecticians Diodorus Cronus, and Philo. He is also said to have studied Platonist philosophy under the direction of Xenocrates, and Polemo. 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, 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 is undoubtedly the invention of a later writer. Zeno instead sent his friend and disciple Persaeus, who had lived with Zeno in his house. 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. Zeno is said to have declined Athenian citizenship when it was offered to him, fearing that he would appear unfaithful to his native land, 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". We are also told that Zeno was of an earnest, gloomy disposition; that he preferred the company of the few to the many; that he was fond of burying himself in investigations; and that he disliked verbose and elaborate speeches. Diogenes Laërtius has preserved many clever and witty remarks by Zeno, although these anecdotes are generally considered unreliable. 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:
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