Epicurus

Ancient Greek philosopher

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Lived -342–-270, aged 72

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Era
-342–-270
Aged 72

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

He promised happiness through detachment from fear and careful management of desire — then got remembered for a thousand years as the philosopher of overindulgence. What Epicurus actually taught at The Garden in Athens was nearly the opposite: simple meals, close friendships, and a universe of atoms where the gods exist but never interfere.

Biography

About

Epicurus founded his school of philosophy in Athens in 341–270 BC, gathering followers to The Garden where they ate simply and debated how to live well. His system rested on atoms moving through void — borrowed from Democritus but sharpened with the "swerve," a spontaneous deviation that let free will slip into a material cosmos. He wrote over 300 works; nearly all vanished, leaving only letters, the Principal Doctrines, and fragments of On Nature to reach us through later writers like Lucretius. Epicureanism peaked during the late Roman Republic, then faded, and by the Middle Ages his name ha…

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In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Epicurus

Epicurus

saidundated

Luxurious food and drinks, in no way protect you from harm. Wealth beyond what is natural, is no more use than an overflowing container.

— From the esplanade wall at Oenoanda, now in Turkey, as recorded by Diogenes of Oenoanda

Epicurus

saidundated

Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in the search of it when he has grown old. For no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul.

— "Letter to Menoeceus", as translated in Stoic and Epicurean (1910) by Robert Drew Hicks, p. 167

Epicurus

saidundated