Chrysippus of Soli (c. 280/77–208/5 BC) was a most multilateral stoic philosopher; he earned the title of Second Founder of Stoa. A prolific writer (he has written much more than any other stoic philosopher, but none of his works have survived except as fragments), Chrysippus expanded the fundamental doctrines of Zeno of Citium, the founder of the school. Chrysippus excelled in logic, the theory of knowledge, physics and ethics. He created an original system of propositional logic in order to better (...) understand the causal interrelations of events in the universe. He adhered to a deterministic view of fate, but nevertheless sought a role for personal freedom in thought and action. Ethics, he thought, depended on understanding the nature of the universe, and he taught a therapy of extirpating the passions which depress the soul. He initiated the success of Stoicism as one of the most influential philosophical movements in the Greek and Roman world. (shrink)

Diogenes of Babylon, or Diogenes of Seleucia (c. 240–150 BC) — a disciple of Chrysippus, a prominent representative of the last period of the Early Stoa, the head of the Stoic school after Zeno of Tarsus. In the writings of Diogenes, of which few fragments have been preserved, almost all the main and many auxiliary issues of stoic dogmatics were touched upon. Being more of a traditionalist than an innovator, Diogenes, nevertheless, specified and clarified school definitions, in some cases offered (...) his own ones and sometimes deviated from stoic canons. He also paid attention to special topics, such as music. Diogenes enjoyed great authority, including among the Romans (Cicero called him "an authoritative and influential Stoic"). In 155 Diogenes visited Rome as a member of the Athenian embassy. Among his students was the founder of the Middle Stoa, Panaetius of Rhodes. (shrink)

Epictetus (c. 50 A.D., Hierapolis, Phrygia – c. 135 A.D., Nicopolis, Epirus), one of the most prominent representatives (along with Seneca and Marcus Aurelius) of Later Stoa, disciple of Musonius Rufus. In young age he was a slave of Epaphroditus, a courtman of emperor Nero. Under emperor Domitianus he was banned into exile to Nicopolis, where he established his own school. Epictetus was an outstanding exponent of Stoic ethics notable for the consistency and power of his ethical thought and for (...) effective methods of teaching. More sharply than any other stoic he accentuated the item of moral freedom. Epictetus’s chief concerns were with inner integrity and self — management which he advocated by demanding of his students a thorough examination of two central ideas, the capacity of “volition” and the “correct use of impressions”. Heartfelt and satirical by turns, Epictetus has had significant influence on the popular moralistic tradition (in the first place on Marcus Aurelius). His lucid resystematization and challenging application of Stoic ethics qualify him as an important philosopher in his own right within stoic tradition. (shrink)