Editing Epicureanism (section)

==History==
[[Epicurus]], the founder of the Epicurean School, was born in 342/1 BCE on the island of [[Samos]]. In his early years, he studied under Pamphilus, a Platonist philosopher in [[Samos]]. Later, he received instruction from Nausiphanes of [[Teos]], a follower of [[Democritus]]. Although Epicurus would later downplay these early influences, it is generally acknowledged that Nausiphanes had a significant impact on the development of his thought. At the age of eighteen, Epicurus traveled to [[Athens]] for military service. After completing his duties, he devoted himself entirely to philosophy while living in [[Colophon (city)|Colophon]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Copleston |first1=Frederick Charles |title=Vol. I: Greece and Rome ; Vol. II: Augustine to Scotus ; Vol. III: Ockham to Suarez |last2=Copleston |first2=Frederick Charles |date=1985 |publisher=Doubleday Image Books |isbn=978-0-385-23031-5 |series=A history of philosophy |location=New York |page=401}}</ref> [[Epicurus]] taught and gained followers in [[Mytilene]], the capital of the island [[Lesbos]], and then in [[Lampsacus]]. In [[Athens]], Epicurus bought a property for his school called "Garden", which later became the name of Epicurus' school.<ref name="Stanford">{{cite encyclopedia|author=David Konstan|url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/|title=Epicurus|encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|year=2018}}</ref> Its members included [[Hermarchus]], [[Idomeneus of Lampsacus|Idomeneus]], [[Colotes]], [[Polyaenus of Lampsacus|Polyaenus]], and [[Metrodorus of Lampsacus (the younger)|Metrodorus]]. Epicurus emphasized friendship as an important ingredient of happiness, and the school seems to have been a moderately ascetic community which rejected the political limelight of Athenian philosophy. They were fairly [[Cosmopolitanism|cosmopolitan]] by Athenian standards, including women and slaves. Community activities held some importance, particularly the observance of [[Eikas]], a monthly social gathering. Some members were also [[Vegetarianism|vegetarians]] as, from slight evidence, Epicurus did not eat meat, although no prohibition against eating meat was made.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/explore/savingearth/the-hidden-history-of-greco-roman-vegetarianism|title=The Hidden History of Greco-Roman Vegetarianism|date=10 August 2010|website=Saving Earth &#124; Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Dombrowski|first=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Dombrowski|title=The Philosophy of Vegetarianism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nSLoTGecabsC&pg=PA81|year=1984|publisher=[[University of Massachusetts Press]]|isbn=978-0-87023-431-6|page=81}}</ref>

The school's popularity grew and it became, along with [[Stoicism]], [[Platonism]], [[Peripatetic school|Peripateticism]], and [[Pyrrhonism]], one of the dominant schools of [[Hellenistic philosophy]], lasting strongly through the later [[Roman Empire]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=MacGillivray|first1=Erlend D|title=The Popularity of Epicureanism in Late-Republic Roman Society|journal=The Ancient World|date=2012|volume=XLIII|pages=151–172|url=https://www.academia.edu/3333818|language=en}}</ref> Deciphered [[Herculaneum papyri|carbonized scrolls]] obtained from the library at the [[Villa of the Papyri]] in [[Herculaneum]] contain a large number of works by [[Philodemus]], a late Hellenistic Epicurean, and Epicurus himself, attesting to the school's enduring popularity. [[Julius Caesar]] also leaned considerably toward Epicureanism, which led to his plea against the death sentence during the trial against [[Catiline]], during the [[Second Catilinarian Conspiracy|Catiline conspiracy]] where he spoke out against the [[Stoicism|Stoic]] [[Cato the Younger|Cato]].<ref>Cf. [[Sallust]], ''The War With Catiline'', Caesar's speech: [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Sallust/Bellum_Catilinae*.html#51.20 51.29] & Cato's reply: [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Sallust/Bellum_Catilinae*.html#52.13 52.13]).</ref> His father-in-law, [[Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus (consul 58 BC)|Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus]], was also an adept of the school. In the 2nd century CE, comedian [[Lucian of Samosata]] and wealthy promoter of philosophy [[Diogenes of Oenoanda]] were prominent Epicureans.

After the death of Epicurus, leadership of the school passed to [[Hermarchus]], who was originally from [[Mytilene]]. He was succeeded by Polystratus. Among Epicurus' closest students were [[Hermarchus]], [[Polyaenus]], and [[Metrodorus of Lampsacus (the younger)|Metrodorus of Lampsacus]]. The Roman philosopher [[Cicero]] later wrote that he had listened to [[Phaedrus (Athenian)|Phaedrus]], who served as the head of the Athenian school around 90 BCE and had come to [[Rome]]. However, the most well-known follower of Epicureanism was the Roman poet [[Lucretius|Titus Lucretius Carus]] (c. 91–51 BCE). [[Lucretius]] expressed Epicurus' philosophical ideas in his didactic poem ''[[De rerum natura|De Rerum Natura]]'' (''On the Nature of Things''). The main goal of this work was to free people from the fear of the gods and death, and to guide them toward achieving inner peace and tranquility. <ref name=":0" />

By the late third century CE, however, there was little trace of its existence.<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Frede|title=The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy|chapter=Epilogue|publisher=The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy|pages=795–96|year=1999|doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521250283.024|isbn=9780521250283|chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/the-cambridge-history-of-hellenistic-philosophy/epilogue/360761D427CCAD70EA98919BEA3C4F67}}</ref> 
With growing dominance of [[Neoplatonism]] and [[Peripateticism]], and later, [[Christianity]], Epicureanism declined.