u/AdSilent1789

Hello people, I’m going to summarise this in the first paragraph (the rest is just additional explanation, mostly some filler):

I am a student of the Bible, and I need a good, non-biased, introductory text to general Stoic philosophy (historical development up until the end of the 1st century AD is appreciated), and all according to title) or even to general Ancient Greek philosophy & thought, as I am interested in what the Stoics and the Epicureans had to say about the world since it appears in the Book of Acts, chapter 17, where the Apostle Paul confronts and strikes a dialogue with the people that espouse these two philosophical doctrines, as I try to take the matters that pertain to my faith seriously, as any of you do in the respective doctrines that you have chosen to follow as well.

Note that I am not asking for a main nor a primary text, but a secondary one (a faithfully deep enough overview of all that is to be known about your doctrine) that faithfully explains the origins and the development of the stoic doctrine well into the closure of the 1st century AD; the main ideas and how they emerged from prior ones and how they manifested through their respective followers and teachers.

Any commentaries that are of value would also be appreciated, but I mainly seek general introductions that explain your doctrine and its origins deep enough, without modern-contemporary ideological bias (no one likes their worldview being misused, twisted, mocked or espoused by someone who knows zero to nothing of it after all). If there is something deeper or different that could aid my research that you think that I should know about, then by all means share it here too, I would appreciate that (I just lack time to dig deep for long periods of time, as time is gold and of utmost importance, but I can manage bit by bit long-term in short study sessions.)

Also, as already specified, any faithful and respectable introductory texts to the development and basis of Ancient Greek philosophies are welcome as well, equally!

Thank you for taking the time to read through this!

Hello everyone, I am trying to find out about (no success at all as of yet) any good texts about a general overview on general ancient Greek philosophy, specifically any good/unbiased (lacking any modern-contemporary political or ideological bias or drivel twisting them) introductory or general texts focusing mainly on the Stoics and the Epicureans [their beginnings, their development through time (their very beginnings, up until the end of the 1st century AC); their founders and their main and consequent teachers and proponents; how the specific followers of these philosophies behaved, and thought about the world and reality as it was according to their own worldviews; along with the specific ideas to be comprehensible enough and have some depth behind them while not cutting out nor distorting the truth behind these philosophies; all without needing to depend on/read through the primary texts].

If these books are also completely about general ancient Greek philosophy (about how it developed and came to give birth to consequent Greek philosophies) then that is appreciated too, but a main focus on the Stoics and on the Epicureans would be preferrable.

I am planning on (if I have the opportunity to do so long-term) doing some layman biblical research on the Stoics and the Epicureans that Paul got to interact with (per Acts 17) in my spare time, so I would like to know more about these philosophical doctrines as much as possible as it pertains to the understanding of my faith.

Note that: I am not planning on, nor willing to consult the primary texts such as Aristotles’ Organon, Plato’s Republic and the different texts that were written by, compiled by, and improved upon by these philosophers and by their to-be-future-teachers students because I lack the time to do this kind of rigurous research on my own. If I have the time and some higher amounts of patience in the farther future I would do so gladly, as I already possess some of these works that I had specifically named by author and work (though they seem to be more so pre-Stoic/Epicurean or complementary to them than being main texts on Stoic/Epicurean ideas and ideologies themselves).

Thank you for your answers!