The Role Of Stoicism In Ancient Rome

Unlike most civilizations, the Roman Empire did not dabble deeply in the school of philosophic thought. As surprising as that may seem the Roman intellectuals were a more practical people who understood the popularizing ideas of Democritus and Leucippus through the works of the Latin poet Lucretius. Though the Romans mainly stuck to their polytheistic heritage, they were fascinated by how their way of thinking could better any situation by practicing stoicism.
Under the idea of stoicism, Romans could achieve a higher form of tranquility and partially escape life's anxieties. The practice of stoics simply saw the world through an "attitude of rational detachment" "(Fiero pg.70); this philosophy may seem cold, but in practice it could be seen