Stoa Poikile

Stoa Poikile is the first ever blog, forum and library to explore Stoicism. 

Stoicism is a Hellenestic Philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in the 3rd century B.C.E. Circa 290 BC, Zeno of Citium arrived on the shore of Athens; after suffering a costly shipwreck, Zeno lost his pharmaceutical remedies, his novels and the recipe to the pharmaceutical remedies. The common man would find such a devastating shock an impediment to their life, a moment of melancholy. Zeno thought otherwise. The ancient biographer, Diogenes Lartius mentions in his biography that after his shipwreck, Zeno commented “Now that I’ve suffered shipwreck, I am on a good journey”. This is extremely baffling for some of us; the man just lost all of his hard work.

Imagine you lost all your hard work and money in a split second. Wouldn't that be simply devastating? That event is where Zeno found the roots of Stoicism- the dichotomy of control. He realised that the shipwreck was not within his control and thus, he focused on what he could control and founded Stoicism. Zeno started teaching Stoicism at the Stoa Poikile, in Athens, Greece. 

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From Marcus Aurelius to Seneca, from Tim Ferriss to Nelson Mandela, Stoicism has transformed some of the world's most inspirational people. Learn more about Stoicism on the Stoa Poikile and feel free to discuss your ideas and questions on the Poikile Forum. 

 

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