Stoicism was one of the most influential schools of philosophy in antiquity and its influence has persisted to the present day. Originating in Athens around 300 BCE, it proved especially popular in the Roman world, while more recently it has influenced thinkers as diverse as Montaigne, Kant, Nietzsche and Deleuze. Stoicism offers a distinctive and challenging view of both the world as a whole and the individual human being. It conceives the world materialistically and deterministically as a unified whole, of which we are all parts. It presents the human being as a thoroughly rational animal, for whom violent emotions are actually the product of errors in reasoning. In the popular imagination it is now mainly associated with the ideas of emotionless calm and heroic endurance in the face of adversity. As we shall see, like so many popular images this one is based on an element of truth combined with an unhappy distortion.

The aim of this volume is to offer an introduction to Stoic philosophy for readers new to Stoicism and it does not assume any knowledge of either ancient philosophy or philosophy in general. It should be of use to students of philosophy, students of classics and other interested general readers. As well as outlining the central philosophical ideas of Stoicism, one of its aims is to introduce the reader to the different ancient authors and sources that they will encounter when exploring Stoicism.