“the political events of 88-86 B.C.E. changed the course of Western philosophy i

—“the political events of 88-86 B.C.E. changed the course of Western philosophy in general, and Stoicism in particular, for the remainder of antiquity. At that time, philosophers were politically in charge at Athens, and made the crucial mistake of siding with Mithridates against Rome. The defeat of the King of Pontus, and consequently of Athens, spelled disaster for the latter and led to a diaspora of philosophers throughout the Mediterranean.”—