An associate of the brilliant Ptolemaic Minister of Finance, Apollonius, Zenon was involved in many of his ambitious schemes to improve the economy of Egypt. He was particularly concerned with extending Egypt's irrigated areas and, although not all his plans were realized, he was responsible for the reclamation of large tracts of land which had been allowed to fall into disuse. A substantial archive of his correspondence with Apollonius survives, and throws much light both on the economy and on the administration of the state in the early Ptolemic period.