| Zenon | |
| Region: | Western philosophy |
| Era: | Hellenistic philosophy |
| Birth Date: | c. 150 BC |
| Birth Place: | Sidon, Coele-Syria, Seleucid Empire |
| Death Date: | c. 75 BC |
| Death Place: | prob. Athens |
| School Tradition: | Epicureanism |
| Main Interests: | Ethics, mathematics |
Zeno of Sidon (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: [[wikt:Ζήνων|Ζήνων]] ὁ Σιδώνιος; c. 150 – c. 75 BC) was a Greek Epicurean philosopher[1] from the Seleucid city of Sidon. His writings have not survived, but there are some epitomes of his lectures preserved among the writings of his pupil Philodemus.
Zeno was born in the city of Sidon. He was a contemporary of Cicero, who heard him when at Athens.[2] [3]
He was sometimes termed the "leading Epicurean." (Latin: Coryphaeus Epicureorum)[2] Cicero states that Zeno was contemptuous of other philosophers, and even called Socrates "the Attic Buffoon (scurram Atticum)."[4] He was a disciple of Apollodorus, and Cicero and Diogenes Laërtius both describe him as an accurate and polished thinker.[2]
Zeno held that happiness is not merely dependent upon present enjoyment and prosperity, but also on a reasonable expectation of their continuance and appreciation.[3]
Zeno's writings have not survived, but among the charred papyrus remains at the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, there is an Epitome of Conduct and Character from the Lectures of Zeno written by his pupil Philodemus. It contains the essays On Frank Criticism[5] and On Anger.[6]
Zeno also studied the philosophy of mathematics based on the derivation of all knowledge from experience. He criticized Euclid, seeking to show that deductions from the fundamental principles (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ἀρχαί) of geometry cannot, on their own, be proved: