Stoicism was the philosophical current which predominantly expresses the Hellenistic and Roman period, up to the end of the 2nd century AD. As the city-state lost its political power, the importance of the integration of the citizen into its institutions diminished. In the Hellenistic megacities, moreover, the Macedonian royal dynasties ruled, which were then replaced by the Romans. The man of that time felt alone in the face of developments which he was unable to influence. Therefore, philosophical systems turned attention to the inner man, who had to seek bliss independently of external conditions and by his own means. This is what both Stoicism and Epicureanism sought to do.