Epicureanism
A Hellenistic school teaching that pleasure through modesty, knowledge, and friendship is the highest good
The Meaning of Epicureanism
Epicureanism was founded by Epicurus of Samos around 307 BCE in his garden school at Athens, which welcomed men, women, and enslaved people alike. Epicurus taught that the universe was composed entirely of atoms moving through void, following the earlier atomism of Democritus. The gods existed but lived in perfect bliss between worlds, taking no interest in human affairs — thus there was nothing to fear from them. Death, too, was nothing to fear, since the soul dissolved with the body: "Where death is, I am not; where I am, death is not." The goal of life was ataraxia (tranquillity) and the absence of pain, achieved not through luxury but through simple pleasures, philosophical friendship, and the avoidance of political entanglement. Epicurus distinguished between necessary desires (food, shelter) and empty ones (fame, power), urging his followers to pursue only the former. The school thrived for centuries, and the Roman poet Lucretius immortalised Epicurean physics in his epic poem De Rerum Natura. The philosophy was frequently misrepresented as hedonistic indulgence, though its actual emphasis was on moderation.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
Epicurus's school was called "The Garden" and was one of the first philosophical institutions to admit women as full members
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Stoicism
💭 conceptPhilosophy
A Hellenistic school teaching virtue, rational self-control, and acceptance of fate as the path to flourishing
Nous
💭 conceptPhilosophy and Mind
The Greek concept of pure intellect or mind, the highest faculty of the soul and the organizing principle of the cosmos.
Neoplatonism
💭 conceptPhilosophy
A late antique philosophical system teaching that all reality emanates from a transcendent, ineffable One
Ataraxia
💭 conceptEpicurean Philosophy
The Epicurean ideal of tranquility, a state of undisturbed peace free from anxiety and fear.
Pythagoreanism
💭 conceptPhilosophy
A philosophical and religious movement founded by Pythagoras centred on mathematics, harmony, and the soul
Ataraxy
💭 conceptphilosophy, ethics
Undisturbedness of mind — the tranquil mental state achieved by removing false beliefs and unnecessary desires, the goal of Epicurean philosophy.
Academy
💭 conceptEducation, scholarship, institutional learning
A place of learning or scholarly institution, from Akademos, in whose sacred grove Plato founded his school.
Apatheia
💭 conceptStoic Philosophy
The Stoic ideal of freedom from destructive passions, achieved through rational discipline.
Mnēmosynē
💭 conceptmythology, philosophy
Memory personified — Titaness, mother of the nine Muses, and the principle through which knowledge and identity persist across time and death.
Republic
💭 conceptLiterature
Plato's philosophical dialogue exploring justice, the ideal state, and the nature of the soul
Symposium
💭 conceptPlato's dialogue on the nature of love
Plato's Symposium was a philosophical dialogue set at a drinking party where guests give speeches about Eros — including Aristophanes' myth that humans were once doubled beings split in two.
Pygmalion Effect
💭 conceptPsychology and education
A psychological phenomenon in which higher expectations lead to improved performance, named after the mythological sculptor whose statue came to life because he believed in her so completely