Epicurean School of Ancient Greek Philosophy Texts

8 authors • 19 works

Epicureanism was founded by Epicurus (341–270 BCE). He established his school, known as The Garden, in Athens in 307 BCE.

Core teachings The goal of life is εὐδαιμονία (happiness, flourishing). Epicurus defined this as ἀταραξία (freedom from mental disturbance) and ἀπονία (absence of physical pain). Happiness is achieved through knowledge and the moderation of desires.

Epicurean epistemology is empiricist. All knowledge originates from the senses, which are considered infallible. Perceptions and feelings of pleasure and pain are the criteria for judging truth and value.

The physics is atomistic. The universe consists of atoms (ἄτομα, uncuttables) and void. Everything that happens results from the movement and collision of atoms. Epicurus adopted this from Democritus but introduced the concept of a slight, uncaused swerve (παρέγκλισις) in atomic motion to account for contingency and human choice.

The gods exist as perfectly tranquil beings composed of fine atoms. They dwell in the spaces between worlds and take no interest in human affairs or the workings of the cosmos. The soul is also material, made of fine atoms, and disperses at death. Therefore, death is nothing to us, as there is no afterlife to fear.

Ethics centers on the management of desires. Desires are classified as natural and necessary (e.g., for food, shelter), natural but unnecessary (e.g., for luxurious food), and vain and empty (e.g., for fame, power). The wise person satisfies only the natural and necessary desires, which are easy to fulfill, and cultivates the static pleasures of tranquility and friendship over the kinetic pleasures of intense stimulation.

Key figures Epicurus (341–270 BCE) was the founder and systematizer of the school. Lucretius (c. 99–c. 55 BCE) was a Roman poet whose work De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things) is a primary source for Epicurean doctrine. Philodemus (c. 110–c. 30 BCE) was a late Hellenistic Epicurean philosopher. Many of his works were preserved in the library at Herculaneum. Zeno of Sidon (c. 150–c. 75 BCE) was a teacher of Philodemus and head of the Epicurean school in Athens.

Historical development The school flourished in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, with communities in Athens, Rhodes, and Alexandria. It was a major rival to Stoicism. Epicurean texts, including works by Epicurus, Philodemus, and Zeno of Sidon, were preserved in the library of a villa in Herculaneum, buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The school's influence waned in the late Roman Empire with the rise of Neoplatonism and later Christianity, which opposed its materialist cosmology and denial of divine providence and an afterlife.

Epicurean School of Ancient Greek Philosophy Texts

Authors

Works