Stoic Cosmogony and the Reception of Heraclitus' Logos

The aim of the present paper is to show how and to what extent Heraclitus’ paramount concept of logos has been taken up and reused by the Stoics. In order to do so, I shall not only inquire into general conceptual correspondences between Heraclitus’ and the Stoics’ understanding of logos but also, and in the first place, look for textual evidence demonstrating the influence that the former exerted on the latter. Despite the lamentably fragmentary nature of our source material, it will thus be possible to reconstruct, as far as possible, the Heraclitean material on which the Stoics relied for their own (re)interpretation of the concept of logos. Of particular importance will be, in this connection, the identification of groups or clusters of sayings that the Stoics appear to have jointly expounded with reference to a common theoretical aspect or topic – that is, in our case, the meaning and importance of logos. Given the considerable extent and complexity of the Stoic reception of this Heraclitean concept, I shall focus in the present paper on an important aspect of Stoic philosophy and of Stoic physics in particular, namely cosmogony. By drawing on two important accounts, preserved by Stobaeus but going back to Arius Didymus, setting out Zeno’s and Cleanthes’ cosmogonical views, we will be in a position to analyse the complex entanglement of the Heraclitean doctrines of fire, of elemental exchange, of tonos (“tension”), of the harmony of the opposites, and of the dialectics between the one and all things. In fact, we shall see how all this aspects find their place, in the framework of the reading of Heraclitus evident from the accounts at issue, in a global interpretation also – and, for our purposes, most importantly – revolving around the concept of logos. In order to bear out the variety of domains linked with Stoic cosmogony – such as physics (and metaphysics), biology, theology, and even ethics – in which Heraclitus’ logos plays a crucial role, I shall then focus on further passages significantly showcasing the depiction of the cosmic rule of logos, equated both to Zeus’ divine administration and to the likewise divine designing fire, and of the way in which it ensures the survival and perpetuation of the dynamic unity of the universe. Several of these passages, which are found in authors like Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus of Rome, and Marcus Aurelius, also seem to have strong links with the Stoic commentary tradition on Heraclitus and thus make it possible for us to shed light on the exegetical and theoretical methods that the Stoics, and especially Cleanthes, applied on the tenets and the sayings of the philosopher from Ephesus.