Today, the term stoic or stoical is commonly used to describe someone who displays little emotion. However, historically, stoic referred to the Stoic school of philosophy, which emphasizes not letting emotions control you, particularly over things beyond your control. Originally, the philosophy was almost named Zenonism after its founder Zeno of Citium, but was eventually named after the Stoa Poikile, the Athenian hall where Zeno taught. This name translates to “painted corridor” due to the murals depicting the Greek victory at the Battle of Marathon on its walls. The term stoa has roots in the Proto-Indo-European word for “stand”, sta.
