Zeno of Citium
Zeno was a wealthy merchant who lost his life savings when his ship and its cargo sunk. Surviving the shipwreck, it’s said he went to a bookshop and enquired where he could find a man like Socrates. The bookkeeper pointed out the window and said follow that man. That man was Crates of Thebes, the most famous Cynic philosopher of the time. Zeno became one of Crate’s students and began his journey as a philosopher, eventually establishing the School of Stoicism.
