Zeno of Tarsus
Encyclopedia
Zeno of Tarsus
was a Stoic
philosopher.
He was a pupil of Chrysippus
, and when Chrysippus died c. 206 BC, he succeeded him to become the fourth head of the Stoic school in Athens
.
According to Diogenes Laërtius
, he wrote very few books, but left a great number of disciples. From what little is known about his philosophical views, he was an orthodox Stoic, but doubted the doctrine of the conflagration of the universe
. This was a considerable modification of the physical theory of the Stoics, who held that the universe periodically dissolved into fire.
It is not known when he died. He was succeeded as head of the Stoic school by Diogenes of Babylon.
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
was a Stoic
Stoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early . The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.Stoics were concerned...
philosopher.
He was a pupil of Chrysippus
Chrysippus
Chrysippus of Soli was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was a native of Soli, Cilicia, but moved to Athens as a young man, where he became a pupil of Cleanthes in the Stoic school. When Cleanthes died, around 230 BC, Chrysippus became the third head of the school...
, and when Chrysippus died c. 206 BC, he succeeded him to become the fourth head of the Stoic school in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
.
According to Diogenes Laërtius
Diogenes Laertius
Diogenes Laertius was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is known about his life, but his surviving Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is one of the principal surviving sources for the history of Greek philosophy.-Life:Nothing is definitively known about his life...
, he wrote very few books, but left a great number of disciples. From what little is known about his philosophical views, he was an orthodox Stoic, but doubted the doctrine of the conflagration of the universe
Ekpyrôsis
Ekpyrosis is a Stoic belief in the periodic destruction of the cosmos by a great conflagration every Great Year. The cosmos is then recreated only to be destroyed again at the end of the new cycle....
. This was a considerable modification of the physical theory of the Stoics, who held that the universe periodically dissolved into fire.
It is not known when he died. He was succeeded as head of the Stoic school by Diogenes of Babylon.