Which Ancient Philosophy Best Fits Your Personality?

With a strong emphasis on self-control—especially emotional self-control—but no mandate for seclusion from society or politics, Stoicism was particularly popular among powerful people. In fact, one the most famous students of Stoicism, the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, is also one of history's most respected rulers. This is basically the Gryffindor of philosophies: we bet you're someone who has found a lot of success in life through honorable means, and who always tries to do the right thing.

Though the word "cynicism" now is essentially the synonym of "pessimist" in English, its root comes from the Greek word for "dog," a possible reference to the animal-like lifestyle of antiquity's most famous Cynic philosopher, Diogenes of Sinope. A contemporary of Alexander the Great, Diogenes rejected all the trappings of human society and lived in a huge ceramic jar in the middle of Athens, from which he heckled more mainstream philosophers like Plato. For a Cynic, getting caught up in pleasure-seeking or power-seeking behavior was the worst kind of sin, because it distracted from the pursuit of truth. Props for your mental fortitude, but we're guessing you're kind of a downer.

Though now associated more with gourmet tastes than with philosophy, Epicureanism was one of the most important philosophical schools in antiquity—especially during the late Roman Republic, when the Latin poet Lucretius explained the philosophy to the Roman elite in his "De rerum natura." According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Epicureanism "included advice on the proper attitude toward politics (avoid it where possible) and the gods (do not imagine that they concern themselves about human beings and their behavior), the role of sex (dubious), marriage (also dubious) and friendship (essential)." In other words, the philosophy encouraged its followers to focus on living fully in the here and now, rather than getting caught up in either superstition or nihilism. We bet you love sitting around a table with your smartest friends, talking for hours.

What is life? You're comfortable admitting that you don't really know—and, what's more, you're pretty sure that no one else does, either. Ancient Skepticism, which was possibly influenced by philosophies current on the Indian subcontinent around the time of Alexander the Great, was based on one simple tenet: "Nothing can be known, not even this." While Skeptics had a bit of an unpleasant reputation due to their penchant for tearing their peers apart intellectually, their legacy led to the modern scientific method. We're guessing that, even if you might not be the most pleasant person to be around, your insistence on intellectual rigor at all times attracts much respect.