After the death of Alexander the Great, the Greek city-states began to decay as they became part of the power struggle for the Hellenistic kings who tried to fill Alexander's shoes. Life during this time was often troubled and chaotic. It was during this time when new types of philosophical ideas began to develop. The philosophical schools which arose out of this troubled era were the Cynic, Epicurean, Stoic, and Skeptic. These schools supported the type of morality that was less directly associated to the government and society. The schools focused more closely on how an individual when unconnected to the tie of traditional society and state should deal with the "whim of fate."

The basis for the Cynic school was that over attachment to the possessions of ones life was the root of evil and unhappiness. The Cynics taught that the more one has, the more one is susceptible to the hands of fate. The Cynics encouraged that one must reduce their possessions, connections, and pleasure to the absolute minimum. The school taught that ones freedom comes from the abandonment of material objects and pos

The Stoic school was created by a Syrian named Zeno of Citium. Zeno went to Athens as a wealthy merchant but lost his fortune at sea. Zeno was consoled by the philosopher Crates who taught Zeno that material possessions were not important to a man's happiness. Zeno stayed in Athens were he heard various lectures from different philosophers. After gaining knowledge from the speakers he began to teach in a public hall named Stoa Poikile, hence the name Stoic. The foundation of his teachings was that the only way for a man to achieve happiness was to live in harmony with nature. Passions, are the cause of all evil, and are caused by the lack of judgment of what is "real" good and what is not. Unlike the Epicureans which taught that one should retreat from public life the Stoics encouraged the participation in public life. Zeno taught that every person has a role in the universe and all of these roles have an equal value. Absolute happiness could be achieved only after one accepted their role no matter what it may be. The Stoic virtues consisted of applying reason to ones life so that one lives to the unity and laws of nature.

The school of Epicureans was founded by Epicurus who was a contemporary of Zeno Epic

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Approximate Word count = 826
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)