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EPIKUR
Epicurus – a brief summary
Epicurus (c. 341–270 BC) was a Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism, a philosophical movement that placed pleasure (hedoné) and the absence of pain as the highest good in life. But this was not an empty or superficial desire for pleasure – on the contrary, he emphasized inner peace (ataraxia) and physical well-being (aponia) as the most important. This is achieved through moderation, friendship, reflection and freedom from fear – especially the fear of death and the gods.
Some main points:
• Happiness = absence of pain: The greatest happiness is found in peace and the absence of physical and mental pain.
• Temperance: Pleasure should be sought sensibly and not lead to greater pain later.
• Fearlessness: One should not fear death – when we are alive, death is not there, and when death comes, we do not exist.
• The gods may exist, but they do not interfere in our lives.
• Friendship and simple pleasures are the key to a good life.
Epicurus' philosophy was an ethical and practical outlook on life, often lived in small communities. He taught in his garden in Athens, and this "Garden" became a symbol of a simple, reflective, and happy life.
QUOTES
EPIKUR SINE BREV
Epicurus wrote extensively, but most of his works have been lost. Nevertheless, we know some of his thinking through surviving letters and quotations, as well as through later followers, especially Lucretius.
🔹 Surviving works of Epicurus:
1. Three letters (preserved through Diogenes Laertius' work Lives and Opinions of the Philosophers):
• Letter to Herodotus: A brief presentation of his natural philosophy - about the nature of the world, sensory impressions and the nature of the soul.
• Letter to Pythocles: On natural phenomena such as weather, lightning and stars, with emphasis on removing fear and superstition.
• Letter to Menoeceus: A popular and easy-to-understand letter on ethics, pleasure and the good life. The most famous and quoted.
2. Key statements (Kyriai doxai):
• A collection of 40 short maxims that summarize the core of Epicureanism - about happiness, fear, pleasure and moderation.
3. Vatican Collection (Sententiae Vaticanae):
• A collection of 81 short fragments and statements, found in the Vatican, with moral and practical content.
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🔹 Lost works:
According to Diogenes Laertius, Epicurus wrote:
• Over 300 books – the main work was called “On Nature” (Peri physeōs), in 37 volumes.
• Many of these texts were copied and preserved in Epicurean societies and in the Herculaneum library, which was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.
🔸 Some fragments of these works have now been reconstructed from charred manuscripts found in Herculaneum.
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🔹 Epicurus' influence through others:
• Lucretius wrote the epic poem De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things), which continues and explains Epicurus' natural philosophy in Latin.
• Later Epicureans such as Philodemus helped preserve and interpret Epicurus's thought, especially in the Herculaneum papyri.
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