Seated Philosopher: Chrysippus (?) at The Louvre, Paris

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Chrysippus, a renowned Stoic philosopher of ancient Greece, is likely the elderly figure depicted in this captivating sculpture from the third century BC. According to Cicero's writings in the 1st century BC (On the Ends of Good and Evil, Book I, Chapter 39) and Sidonius Apollinaris' letters penned in the middle of the 5th century AD (Letters, Epistle IX, 14), a magnificent statue of the philosopher was erected in Athens within the historic district of Kerameikos, where potters once worked; this ancient site is credited with giving rise to the English term 'ceramic'. The sculpture portrays Chrysippus as he delivers an impassioned speech, using his upturned hand to count and emphasize his arguments. Pliny the Elder's Natural History, penned in the 1st century AD (Book XXXIV, Chapter 88), attributes this masterpiece to the skilled Greek sculptor Euboulides from the late third century BC. The feet and several folds around Chrysippus' right forearm, index finger, and thumb have undergone restoration.