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Kleanthes/Cleanthes

(c. 330 - c. 230 BCE)

Kleanthes of Assos was a Stoic and the successor to Zeno of Citum (founder of the Stoic School of Philosophy).

Most famous for the surviving fragment attributed to him, “A Hymn to Zeus” in which we find the oldest known version of a teleological argument for God’s existence.

In David Hume’s Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion there is a character named “Cleanthes” who defends the TA and is no doubt based loosely on the 4th Century philosopher.

Read more about Kleanthes.

Read a more detailed account of Kleanthes at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

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