The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers · Character

Zeno of Citium

The shipwrecked merchant who founded Stoicism, teaching that virtue alone is good and the wise man is a citizen of the cosmos.

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Also known as Zeno, Democritus, Parmenides, Zeno the Eleatic

First appearance: Zeno

As a major figure in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Zeno of Citium is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Cited as a source for Thales' parentage and as confirming his astronomical work.

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Zeno arrives in Athens after a shipwreck and turns to philosophy, building the Stoic school whose doctrines Diogenes Laërtius treats as the most manly of the Socratic inheritances. He is a man of political weight in his own city and a teacher whose followers include Cleanthes and Chrysippus, the architects of the Stoa. His famous death — biting a tyrant and spitting out his tongue — crystallizes the Stoic conviction that the body can be crushed but the will cannot, a lesson the whole later tradition repeats.

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Narrative arc

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Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

Monimus’s feigned madness and destruction of the money is the emotional and psychological peak because it dram…

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Zeno of Citium appears across 34 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Thales
Cited as a source for Thales' parentage and as confirming his astronomical work.
Anaximenes
Some say Anaximenes was also a pupil of Parmenides.
Anaxagoras
Anaxagoras was said to be hostile to him, failing to gain admission for conversation.
Stilpo
Mentioned as one of Stilpo's pupils, later the founder of the Stoic school.
Book VI: The Cynics and the Rise of Stoicism
Founder of the Stoic school; disciple of Crates; lived in the same manner as the Cynics; considered Cynicism a short road to virtue.
Antisthenes
Mentioned as one whose patience was influenced by Antisthenes' foundations.
Crates
Cited as the source of an anecdote about Crates sewing a sheep's fleece into his cloak.
Menedemus
Founder of the Stoic school, noted for living in the same manner as the Cynics and for the similarity between Cynic and Stoic doctrines.
Book VII: The Stoic Doctrine of Virtue and Indifferents
Founder of Stoicism; cited for the doctrine that virtue is sufficient for happiness and for views on love and community of women.
Zeno
Founder of the Stoic school; taught in the Painted Colonnade; honored by the Athenians with keys to the walls, a golden crown, and a bronze statue; corresponded with King Antigonus; lived to age eighty.
Ariston
Mentioned as the founder of Stoicism whose doctrine Ariston was attached to, and whose school Ariston left when Zeno was ill.
Herillus
Zeno persuaded Herillus to shave his head to drive away his many followers.
Dionysius
Final teacher of Dionysius before he left the Stoic school.
Cleanthes
Cleanthes' master and founder of the Stoic school; he trained Cleanthes and forbade him from accepting a gift from the Areopagus.
Sphaerus
Sphaerus was a pupil of Zeno's school before studying under Cleanthes.
Chrysippus
Founder of Stoicism; Chrysippus was initially a pupil of Zeno or Cleanthes, and later dissented from Zeno's views.
Book VIII: The Pythagorean and Promiscuous Philosophers
Mentioned as a teacher of Empedocles and Zeno, and as an influence on Empedocles' poetic style.
Book VIII: The Pythagorean and Promiscuous Philosophers
Noted as a pupil of Parmenides alongside Empedocles, and as the inventor of dialectics according to Aristotle.
Empedocles
Empedocles is described as an imitator and rival of Parmenides in his poems.
Empedocles
Zeno is credited with inventing dialectics, and was a fellow pupil of Parmenides alongside Empedocles.
Book IX: The Skeptics and the Eleatic School
Pupil of Xenophanes and Anaximander; first to assert the earth is spherical; discovered Hesperus and Lucifer are the same star.
Book IX: The Skeptics and the Eleatic School
Native of Velia; pupil of Parmenides; first to use the 'Achilles' argument; wrote treatises in various forms.
Book IX: The Skeptics and the Eleatic School
Wrote the 'Great World' and 'Little World'; lived over 100 years; Plato allegedly wished to burn his writings.
Parmenides
Main subject of the chapter; pupil of Xenophanes and Anaximander, follower of Aminias the Pythagorean; first to assert spherical earth and central universe; taught dual elements and the primacy of reason.
Melissus
Teacher of Melissus.
Melissus
Mentioned in analogy: Hippocrates recommended Democritus to the Abderites, as Melissus recommended Heraclitus to the Ephesians.
Zeno, the Eleatic
Zeno of Elea is the subject of the chapter; he is described as a native of Velia, pupil of Parmenides, inventor of dialectics, and a noble figure in philosophy and politics.
Zeno, the Eleatic
Zeno was a pupil of Parmenides and greatly attached to him; Plato mentions Zeno in his Parmenides.
Leucippus
Mentioned as Leucippus's teacher.
Democritus
Subject of the chapter; atomist philosopher, pupil of Leucippus, known for his atomic theory and ethics of cheerfulness.
Protagoras
Mentioned as Protagoras's teacher and the one who recognized his potential when he was a porter.
Anaxarchus
Mentioned as a possible teacher in the lineage of Anaxarchus (through Nessus and Metrodorus).
Pyrrho
Mentioned as a precursor to Skepticism; Pyrrho was especially fond of him.
Endnotes
Referenced in a note about the Stoic classification of predicates.

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