ABSTRACT
During the Hellenistic period, philosophy, unlike poetry, remained centred in Athens. The names of the various schools where philosophical thought continued to flourish (the Academy, the Lyceum, the ‘Garden’ of Epicurus, and the Stoa {stoa is the Greek word for portico} of the Stoics) were derived from the areas in Athens where they were created, and attest to the enduring importance of this city. However, the philosophers themselves came from all corners of the Greek world: Theophrastus, Aristotle’s successor, was from Mytilene; Pyrrhon, the first Sceptic, from Elis; and the most famous figure of Cynicism, Diogenes, from Sinope, on the shores of the Black Sea.
