From the porch to the palace

The name Stoicism comes from the Stoa Poikile, the painted porch, a colonnade decorated with scenes of battle on the north side of the Agora in Athens, where Zeno of Citium and his followers met near the end of the fourth century BC ^[1]. Zeno began teaching there in 301 BC ^[2].

Cleanthes, a former boxer who carried water at night to pay his way, led the school after Zeno for 32 years ^[3]. Chrysippus, his pupil and successor, expanded the doctrine so far that he is called the Second Founder of Stoicism ^[4].

Scholars usually divide Stoicism into three phases: the Early Stoa, the Middle Stoa, and the Late Stoa ^[1]. In the middle phase, Panaetius of Rhodes did much to introduce Stoic doctrines to Rome, with the patronage of Scipio Aemilianus ^[5]. His book On Duties was the main source for Cicero's own book of the same name ^[5].

The Late Stoa is where the texts survive ^[1]. Musonius Rufus taught in Rome under Nero and was exiled to the island of Gyaros in 65 AD, and later banished again; a collection of extracts from his lectures still survives ^[6].

Seneca was born in Córdoba, tutored and then advised Nero, and in AD 65 was forced to take his own life over a conspiracy he may not have joined ^[7]. His 124 moral letters to Lucilius are one of the main bodies of evidence for ancient Stoicism ^[7]; the translation quoted here is Richard Gummere's, published in 1917, 1920 and 1925 ^[8].

Epictetus was born a slave in Phrygia, studied under Musonius Rufus, and taught after he was freed ^[9]. When Domitian banished philosophers from Rome he moved to Nicopolis and founded a school, where his pupil Arrian took the notes that became the Discourses and the Enchiridion ^[9].

Marcus Aurelius was emperor from 161 to 180, and his Meditations is one of the most important sources for the modern understanding of ancient Stoicism ^[10]. The English translation quoted on this site is George Long's, from 1862 ^[11].

Stoicism has seen revivals, notably in the Renaissance and in the contemporary era ^[1]. Ryan Holiday has been credited with contributing to the increased popularity of Stoicism; he has presented it as a philosophy for modern people, and published The Obstacle Is the Way in 2014 and The Daily Stoic, with Stephen Hanselman, in 2016 ^[12]. His own site describes The Daily Stoic as 366 days of Stoic insights, with new translations of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus ^[13].

Not everyone agrees on how faithful his version is. At a Stoicon conference some attendees reportedly said it was not Stoicism, while others credit him with bringing many readers to the old texts ^[12]. The Further reading list below links his books, and the free translations to read the Stoics themselves.