Stoics: (Acts 17:18) A sect of Greek philosophers at Athens, so called from the
Greek word stoa i.e., a "porch" or "portico," where they have been
called "the Pharisees of Greek paganism." The founder of the Stoics was
Zeno, who flourished about B.C. 300 He taught his disciples that a
man's happiness consisted in bringing himself into harmony with the
course of the universe. They were trained to bear evils with
indifference, and so to be independent of externals. Materialism,
pantheism, fatalism, and pride were the leading features of this
philosophy.
