How should we live? In ancient Greece one man came up with a pleasingly simple answer to this question. The philosopher Epicurus taught his followers that pleasure and contentment were the aims of the good life. For hundreds of years Epicureanism was one of the dominant schools of philosophy. But by the 6th century it had all but disappeared. Discovering how and why Epicureanism was driven from philosophy and public discourse reveals much about how Western thought developed. Despite attempts to erase him, the lessons of Epicurus have been recovered from the mists of time and the ashes of Vesuvius. How he was restored to his place in history is a story of brilliant Renaissance scholars, chance discoveries, and a hunger for intellectual freedom. This new biography of Epicurus reveals the life of Epicurus and traces how his teachings have influenced thinkers across time. Epicurus still has much to teach us about friendship, happiness, and our place in the world.

Pen & Sword Books Limited

Pen & Sword Aviation

Pen & Sword Military

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

producers:
Adobe PDF Library 15.0

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Philosophers
Cover 1
Book Title 4
Copyright 5
Contents 6
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse 8
Introduction 10
Part I Epicurus’s Philosophy 16
Atoms 16
How to Know 20
On the Nature of the Universe 25
On the Gods 29
The Soul of the Matter 34
The Good Life 38
On Friendship 46
Not a Political Animal 50
The Wise Man 52
Part II The Philosopher 58
The State of the State 58
The Early Epicurus 59
Life in the Garden 73
Epicurus the Man 80
Epicurus’ Books 86
Death 92
Plate 100
Part III Classical Reception 116
The Philosopher and the King 116
The Early Epicureans: The Members of the Garden 118
Metrodorus 119
Polyaenus 129
Hermarchus 130
Polystratus 135
Leontion 135
Others of the Garden 140
Leading the Garden 143
Epicurus in Rome 146
Atticus the Almost Epicurean 158
The Epicurean Assassin 161
Epicurean Poets 165
A Never Forgotten Slight 168
Philodemus on the Shore 170
Diogenes of Oinoanda 172
Lucian of Samosata 174
Stoics vs Epicureans 178
On the Malice of Plutarch 183
Imperial Protection and Damnation 186
The Sage versus the Christians 193
Part IV Rediscovering Epicurus 202
The Fires of Vesuvius 202
Epicurus from the dark 209
On the Nature of Things 213
Christian Atomism 218
Translating Epicurus 220
The Epicurean Enlightenment 227
Epicurus and the Modern World 231
Epilogue 238
Acknowledgements 240
General Bibliography 242
Index 244
Backcover 250

First biography of Epicurus in 60 years.

2023-08-21