Zeno of Citium (; ,
Zenon ho Kitieus; c. 334 – c. 262 BC) was a Greek thinker from
Citium (,
Kition),
Cyprus. He was possibly of
Phoenician descent. Zeno was the founder of the
Stoic school of philosophy, which he taught in
Athens from about 300 BC. Based on the moral ideas of the
Cynics, Stoicism laid great emphasis on
goodness and
peace of mind gained from living a life of
Virtue in accordance with
Nature. It proved very successful, and flourished as the dominant philosophy from the
Hellenistic period through to the
Roman era.