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Home , Amafinius, Diogenes of Oenoanda, Epicureanism, Epicurus, Katastematic pleasure, Leontion

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Epicurus and ; and the Letter to Pythocles, on astron- omy and meteorology. also records the Principal Doctrines (Kyriai Doxai), a collec- PAMELA GORDON tion of forty sayings articulated by or culled from Epicurean sources. Also extant is Epicurus (341–270 BCE) was a Hellenistic a larger collection now called the “Vatican Greek moral philosopher who identified the Sayings.” Two types of fragments also survive: goal of as . The study of science ancient quotations and paraphrases of lost was an essential but subsidiary component works, and severely damaged papyri found in of his all-encompassing system, which a villa in that was covered with attracted Greek and Roman practitioners for volcanic ash in 79 CE. Most of the former centuries. appear (often translated into ) in much The main source for the biography of later works by , , , Epicurus is DIOGENES LAERTIUS’ and Seneca, , and others whose Opinions of the Eminent Philosophers.Hewas stances toward Epicureanism are generally born on the Greek island of to Athenian hostile. The latter include numerous parents who later moved to Kolophon in Asia fragments of Epicurus’ On (peri Minor. Diogenes and Cicero report that phuseos). Many references to writings by Epicurus claimed to be self-taught, but Epicurus’ direct associates survive, and POR- Diogenes cites ancient sources that name PHYRY quotes or paraphrases Hermarchos various teachers, including Pamphilos and extensively. We owe much of our . The latter would have taught of Epicureanism to sources that postdate him about ’ , which Epicurus by centuries. Most important is the became an essential foundation of Epicurean epic by the first-century BCE science. Epicurus first attracted followers in Roman poet , who transferred Kolophon, , and Lampsakos. Around Epicurean teachings into Latin verse. Also 306, he acquired in a house with a crucial are the many fragmentary Greek texts garden () that gave its name to a com- by the first-century BCE poet and Epicurean munity of friends, and then to the scholar PHILODEMOS, whose works are found philosophical school in general. His first alongside those of Epicurus in Herculaneum. colleagues included a slave named Mys and at The monumental second-century CE Epicu- least two women ( and Themista). rean inscription of Diogenes at Oinoanda is Three close associates of Epicurus whose also significant. Scholars have generally treated (nonextant) works became authoritative were later works in both Latin and Greek as faithful Hermarchos, Metrodoros, and Polyainos. sources for early Epicureanism, but many now PLUTARCH and others mention several (possibly exercise caution. Lucretius attests to Epicurean fictitious) hetairai from the Garden (see when he addresses Epicurus: HETAIRA). Diogenes Laertius also records “You are our father (pater), the discoverer of Epicurus’ , which passes leadership of the things, you provide for us a father’s precepts” Garden on to Hermarchos, and gives instruc- (3.9–10). But Torquatus, the Epicurean tions for Epicurean communal gatherings mouthpiece in Cicero’s On Moral Ends (de (10.16–21). finibus), acknowledges deviations from Epicurus was prolific, but the only full Epicurean orthodoxy (1.66–70), as does works to survive are three epistles preserved Philodemos, who describes disagreements by Diogenes Laertius: the Letter to , with the founding Epicureans as “almost on physical theory; the Letter to ,on parricide” (Rhetorica A, col. VII).

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine, and Sabine R. Huebner, print pages 2437–2441. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah09101 2

EPICUREAN possible to live pleasantly without living wisely and honorably and justly ... for are Epicurus denied that humanity or any aspect naturally part of a pleasant life, and a pleasant of the universe has a predetermined purpose, life is inseparable from them” (132). and taught that pleasure () is the goal or end (telos). Thus the Epicureans were hedonists, but Epicurus writes in the Letter EPICUREAN SCIENCE to Menoeceus (131), “Whenever we say that pleasure is the telos, we do not mean the The objective of Epicurean reflections of degenerates and pleasures that about natural phenomena was the release consist in carnal indulgence, as some assume from fear and the attainment of happiness. (out of ignorance or disagreement, or because The 11th Principal Doctrine states, “If we had they misinterpret us), but we mean the absence not been oppressed by misapprehensions of in the body and the absence of distress about the phenomena of the sky, or about in the spirit.” A doctrine of “choice and avoid- death (which means nothing to us), or by ance” was essential. The Epicurean pleasures ignorance of the limits of and desires, included the enjoyment of friendship and the we would not have needed to study natural pursuit of philosophy. Pleasures that brought science.” Principal Doctrine 12 adds that the turmoil, such as overindulgence and the study of nature is a prerequisite for the enjoy- satisfaction of lust, were to be avoided. ment of unmixed pleasure. The foundation of Principal Doctrine 8 states, “No pleasure is in Epicurean was an unprece- itself evil, but the things that produce some dented degree of . Diogenes pleasures also bring disturbances many Laertius records that Epicurus presented his times greater than the pleasures.” Epicurus theory of knowledge in a work called the made a distinction between kinetic pleasure Canon (“measuring stick”), whose central (a process) and assertion was that the are an infallible (a state). These terms are interpreted variously, gauge of the (10.30). When judgments but most scholars agree that the latter based on the senses cannot be confirmed, Epi- connoted a spiritual happiness that was valued curean science proposes plausible explanations more highly than bodily pleasure. for phenomena, but declines to choose Friendship (but not marriage or erotic between them. Scholars agree that sensory attachment) is essential to Epicurean content- was fundamental, but there is little ment: “Of the things wisdom acquires to consensus about the methods of Epicurus’ ensure happiness for life as a whole, far the empiricism. greatest is the acquisition of friendship” Like Democritus, Epicurus taught that (Principal Doctrine 27). The development nothing exists other than the infinite void of social ties was a crucial stage in Epicurus’ (empty space) and (atoma, indivisible theory of the evolution of human society pieces of ). This thoroughly materialist (Lucretius 5.925–1457). Epicurus stressed conception of meant that Epicurean : friends offer security. Detractors noted science included , human history, Epicurus’ devotion to his friends, but objected and , as well as and that his theory of friendship denied the impor- biology. Even the mind and soul are composed tance of (e.g., Cicero, de finibus of atoms that are dispersed throughout the 2.78–85). Pleasure, rather than abstract moral body. In Epicurus’ view, the atoms have principles, also guided the Epicurean’s pursuit various fixed qualities such as size, shape, and of the good and the just. The Letter to weight. Atomic combinations produce color, Menoeceus states succinctly that “it is not smell, and other secondary properties. The 3 atoms are in constant downward motion. LATER EPICUREANS AND CRITICS OF To account for the joining of atoms to form EPICURUS complex bodies, Epicureanism posits that atoms sometimes swerve at random from As a philosophical community, and more their otherwise steady course. of generally as a , Epicureanism was the atoms also releases humanity from deter- long-lived. Diogenes Laertius mentions many minism and provides for the of early Greek disciples, including Kolotes human volition. Extant Epicurean texts do (ca. 310–260), whose criticism of - not elucidate precisely how human freedom sophical was later countered by is explained by this theory, which we know Plutarch. Papyri from Herculaneum have primarily from Lucretius (2.251–93), Diogenes revealed texts by or about other early of Oinoanda (fragment 33), and Cicero’s and Greek Epicureans, including Apollodoros, Plutarch’s ridicule. Effluences streaming off Carneiscus, Philonides, and Polystratos. from the atoms of solid bodies cause all There is abundant evidence for intense interest sensory perceptions, including vision, and during the Late Roman . Although are the basis for thoughts and memories. Epicurus did not advocate the composition of These simulacra, as Lucretius calls them poetry, the two best-known first-century BCE (4.30), retain the relevant features of the Epicureans are the poets Lucretius and source. They may outlast the source itself, Philodemos. Well-informed allusions to and may mix with other effluences, thus pro- Epicurean traditions also appear in the poetry ducing misconceptions of reality, such as illu- of VERGIL and . Epicurean teachers and sions and nightmares. scholars among their contemporaries included Epicurean science offered liberation , Phaedrus, Siro, and . from religious superstition and from the fear Prominent first-century BCE Roman statesmen of death, to which Epicurus attributed the who espoused Epicureanism included destructive desire for wealth and power. The Albucius, Pansa, and Piso (all pilloried by human soul is mortal, as its atoms disperse at Cicero), and Cassius (a conspirator against death, which ends all sensation (Lucretius ). The Garden flourished also 3.417–614). There is no , and thus in the second century CE, when Diogenes of the deceased no regret and no Oinoanda broadcast the philosophy on divine punishment. The , who are made the walls of a stoa in Asia Minor. Plotina, the of replenishable atoms, are indestructible politically active wife of the emperor Trajan who inflict no harm and offer no aid (Principal (ca. 53–117), was an Epicurean who Doctrine 1). They dwell in a world apart successfully petitioned to grant the (the metakosmos,orintermundia), but human Epicureans the right to appoint a noncitizen beings can and emulate their blessed as head of their school. A memorable carica- happiness. Some scholars view the Epicurean ture of an Epicurean who combats a fraudulent gods as ideal constructs rather than conven- oracle monger appears in ’s Alexander tional deities of the Greek pantheon. the False Prophet. In the next century, Diogenes For Epicurus, philosophy was above all Laertius’ appreciative survey presented the therapeutic. Philodemos records the Garden as the culmination of his entire work. (“the fourfold cure”), which Negative stereotypes of Epicureans were encapsulated the essentials of the Epicurean widespread in antiquity, as Plutarch makes outlook as follows: “ is not to be feared, clear: “If renown is pleasant, disgrace is pain- death should cause no , easily obtained ful; and nothing is more disgraceful than lack is the good, and easily endured is the bad” of friends, idleness, irreligion, profligacy, or (Herculaneum 1005). regarded with contempt. All people 4 except the Epicureans themselves consider work on Epicureanism includes renewed these attributes to belong to their sect” (Non interest in Lucretius, examinations of Epicu- Posse 1100 D). The Epicurean theory of rean responses to pre-Socratic philosophy, and pleasure inspired many polemics, as did their an increasing focus on Philodemos, whose alleged and a tradition of withdrawing texts from Herculaneum continue to be from politics. The most extravagantly hostile deciphered. texts include Cicero’s Against Piso, Plutarch’s screeds de latenter vivendo and non posse, and SEE ALSO: Cicero, Marcus Tullius; Lucretius; Seneca’s . Indications of early Philodemos, Epicurean; Philosophy, Hellenistic; censure and lampoon include allusions to a Philosophy, Roman; Science, Greek; Soul, lost text by ’ brother Timocrates, and Rome. a few surviving parodic lines by Timon of Phleios (ca. 320–230), and fragmentary scenes REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS from third-century BCE New Comedy. Hostile assessments are prominent in Epictetus’ - Algra, K. et al. (1999) The Cambridge history of courses, and in Cicero’s On Moral Ends, On the . Cambridge. Nature of the Gods, and Tusculan Disputations. Annas, J. (1993) The of happiness. In the Roman world, Epicureanism was often Oxford. Arrighetti, G. (1973) Epicuro opere, 2nd ed. Turin. viewed as a polar opposite to , partic- ularly in theological, astronomical, and politi- Asmis, E. (1984). Epicurus’ scientific method. Ithaca. Bailey, C. B. (1926) Epicurus: The extant remains. cal . Early attestations to this rivalry Oxford. appear in the fragments of the Greek Stoic Fish, J. and Sanders, K., eds. (2011) Epicurus and Chrysippos. Epicurus’ rejection of the Epicurean tradition. Cambridge. contributed to charges of atheism, particularly Konstan, D. (2008) “A life worthy of the gods”: among early Christians. Some opponents’ The materialist psychology of Epicurus. Las Vegas. abhorrence was not absolute. Seneca closes Long,A.A.(2006).From Epicurus to Epictetus: his Epistles with quotations of Epicurus, Studies in Hellenistic and Roman philosophy. Cicero’s close friend was an Epicurean, Oxford. and Plutarch includes Epicurean friends as Long, A. A. and Sedley, D., eds. (1987) The conversation partners in various works. Hellenistic philosophers, 2 vols. Cambridge. Much scholarship since the late twentieth O’Keefe, T. (2010) Epicureanism. Durham. Smith, M. F., ed. (1993) Diogenes of : century has been largely appreciative, but as The Epicurean inscription. . A. A. Long has written recently, “Epicurus, Usener, H. (1887) Epicurea. Leipzig. though much of his thought is firmly rooted van Bremen, R. (2005) “‘Plotina to all her friends’: in the Greek tradition, was too innovative The Empress Plotina and the Epicureans in overall to gain a fair hearing from his intellec- Athens.” Chiron 35: 499–532. tual rivals; and the process of rehabilitation is Warren, J. (2009) The Cambridge companion to still far from complete” (2006: 199). Current Epicureanism. Cambridge.