A lighter shade of green: Stoic gods and environmental virtue ethics

On the Nature of the Gods 2. 159–60; trans. Rackham 1933 It would be a long story to tell of the services rendered by mules and asses, which were undoubtedly created for the use of men. As for the pig, it can only furnish food; indeed Chrysippus actually says that its soul was given it to serve as salt and keep it from putrefaction; and because this animal was fitted for the food of man, nature made it the most prolific of all her offspring. Seneca, Letters 95. 19 Look how many things extravagance, the plunderer of land and sea, has mixed together so that they fit through a single throat. Any attempt to assess Stoic thinking in light of our current ecological crisis pulls us in opposing directions.
For, in the ancient world, to think about ecology was also to think about theology. This ancient eco-theological thinking - whilst in many ways worlds apart from our own environmental concerns - has also had a surprisingly rich impact on modern responses to our ecological crisis. As such, the voices gathered in this volume also reflect on whether and how these ancient ideas could inform modern responses to our environment and its pressing challenges. Through multi-disciplinary conversation this volume offers a new and dynamic exploration of the intersection of ecology and theology in ancient thinking, and its living legacy.