This is not part of high school or college class, nor job related. It's more of a hobby of mine. I study philosophy in my free time, and I came across a reference that I haven't been able to verify. Specifically I'm interested in the Hellenistic school of philosophy Stoicism.

The reference in question is that ‘monasteries’ in the west were firstly a Stoic development. I chased down the following lineage of this info, but ran into a wall. If anyone is interested, please feel free to help.

Dr. Olson, in her book “Daily life in a Medieval Monastery” makes this claim:

“Monasterium is the Latinized version of a Greek word (monos, alone; monachos, one who dwells alone, whence the word “monk”) that was coined by pre-Christian Stoic philosophers to denote a place set apart where the lover of wisdom could retreat from worldly distractions to study and meditate.”

But, there was no source. So I wrote her. Much to my surprise, she responded to me, and referred me to her immediate source for that statement which was Maxwell Staniforth’s introduction to his translation of Marcus Aurelius’ ‘Meditations’ (Penguin Classics, translation first published 1964), p. 26, which reads:

“A notable Stoic contribution, too, to the manners of the Church, and one which has had a lasting influence, was the practice of asceticism. Christians who desired to follow counsels of perfection took the Stoic sage and his way of life as their formal exemplar. The coarse garment, the untrimmed locks and beard, were adopted as the badges of aspiration to sanctity. Just as the Stoic professor was accustomed to withdraw from society and meditate in solitude, his Christina imitators not only followed his example but appropriated his terminology. In the Stoic vocabulary one who went into retreat was an ‘anchorite’; one who practiced self-discipline was an ‘ascetic’, those who lived apart from their fellows were ‘monachi’, and the place of their retreat was a ‘monasterium’. Each of these borrowed expressions has retained its place and significance in the language of the Church to this day.”

But there the trail ends, as that is also not cited. It's not common for citations in the introduction of books, and that's where both of these references occur. The common understanding is that western monasticism is based in the lifeways of the Desert Fathers, but this hint suggests that their practice might be the descendant of an older tradition which would be interesting if true.

So, any further help would be great If anyone has any additional information or suggestions which wold help support or refute that assertion, I would surely appreciate it. Either way, support or a refutation would be helpful, I'm not heavily invested in either result; I'm just looking for the origin of this information that I've seen, and if it's true or not.

Thanks!