335 B.C.E.–263 B.C.E.

Philosopher

Early Years

Like many people in Citium, Zeno was most likely Phoenician, a sect of Middle Eastern people who were known for their sea trading. Zeno himself was a merchant in his younger years, traveling often to numerous ports around the Mediterranean Sea. Over the years Zeno began to gather philosophical books from Athens, Greece (both from his own travels and from his father's travels as a merchant), and by his mid-twenties he sold what cargo he had left and settled permanently in Athens.

Began Teaching at the Painted Stoa.

Zeno was influenced heavily in his early philosophical education by two very different schools of thought. He often attended lectures by Polemon, a follower of the Academics, who were considered very traditional philosophers and used Plato's teachings as their core beliefs. He also was known to follow...