Alexander the Great is credited with

Both Epicureanism and Stoicism were foundational philosophical movements during the Hellenistic era, with Epicurus promoting a philosophy centered on pleasure and the avoidance of pain, and the Stoics advocating for resilience and virtue in the face of adversity. These philosophies offered distinct yet influential approaches to ethics and the nature of existence in the context of a rapidly changing world.

Sophism, characterized by its relativistic views and emphasis on rhetoric, predates the Hellenistic era and was more prominent in classical Greece. Platonism, founded by Plato, also flourished earlier and was not a distinctively Hellenistic development; it became more integrated into later philosophical discourse rather than being a key representative of Hellenistic thought.

Gnosticism is a religious and philosophical movement that arose in the late Hellenistic and early Christian periods, thus falling outside the primary scope of Hellenistic philosophy. Hedonism shares some commonalities with Epicurean thought but lacks the philosophical depth and establishment that characterizes Epicureanism and Stoicism during the Hellenistic era.