The purpose of this historical chapter is to explain the sophisticated type of argumentation that was developed in classical antiquity to help with making moral decisions & moral assessments in the difficult area of suicide. The current renewal of interest in practical ethics among English speaking philosophers, as well as changing social attitudes to suicide, make it possible for us to learn from the ancient philosophical approach, which was based on the belief that suicide could be a rational act. The period particularly studied is roughly 100 BC-100 AD when many acts of suicide are given detailed treatment in classical literature.