Apokatastasis

The cyclical restoration of the cosmos to its original state following an ekpyrosis, in which all events repeat themselves exactly.

Apokatastasis (Gr. ἀποκατάστασις, from apokathistanai = to restore) refers in Stoic cosmology to the periodic completion of a cosmic cycle through a return to the original state. According to Chrysippus, the entire cosmos is dissolved at regular intervals by a conflagration (ekpyrosis) into pure fire. From this fire, everything is then recreated in exactly the same order, with the same people, events, and decisions. This is not to be understood as a loss, but as the fulfilment of the divine order (Logos). The concept also has a moral dimension: whoever understands that the cosmos corrects itself recognises the limits of their own capacity for action.