Hi there. You're listening to the Hellenistic Age podcast. Episode 45, Hellenistic philosophy, Stoics and Stoicism Near the dark forests of the northern Danube, arguably the most powerful men during the late

second century A.D. sat alone in his tent, writing in his diary.

For the Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, the burden of

rule was unusually heavy. Incursions by Germanic tribes, the worst plague in Roman memory,

and the loss of at least eight children despite access to the best doctors and midwives in the

entire empire, put immense pressure upon the man as both a leader and a father.

Yet for Marcus, always a highly intelligent and introspective person, he could find some measure of solace by engaging in philosophy.

During his campaigns, the Emperor penned a series of philosophical writings, often known as the Meditations,

which were never intended for publications

since they were essentially diary entries written by Marcus for Marcus only, and served as sort

of a self-help guide. Yet, nearly 2,000 years later, they have survived, and remain one of the

most famous and widely read personal memoirs ever written, reflecting the core

ideals of one of the main pillars of Hellenistic philosophy, Stoicism.

Arguably the most popular of the schools to emerge during the period, Stoics were renowned

for their adherence to living a virtuous life through rationality and self-control, but they

were also pioneers in the field

of logic and epistemology, which challenged and expanded upon the views of the dominant

platonic and Aristotelian schools of thought. In this episode, we'll discuss the history, the doctrine,

and the legacy of Stoicism, in order to better understand why so many, like Marcus, were attracted to it. The origins of Stoicism in order to better understand why so many like Marcus were attracted to it.

The origins of Stoicism takes us once again to Athens in the early 3rd century BC.

This time we stay in the heart of the city and head to the northern part of the Agora, where

we will find and enter a covered walkway known as the Stoa Poikile, the painted Stoa.

...