Official Sacred Record
LEGACY
Humanities Scholar Epicurus's reading records
Leave your thoughts in the guestbook.
I n t r o d u c t i o n
Epicureanism Epicurus
Humanities ScholarGRBC 341 — BC 270
A philosopher from Samos. He founded the Garden school in Athens and established an ethics that placed pleasure as the highest good.
“If you reduce your desires and maintain the tranquility of ataraxia, even a simple daily life would be true happiness.”
C o n t e m p o r a r i e s
L i b r a r y
Cultural Journey
How cultural experiences shaped this figure's life
Epicurus is the man who read Democritus and found his philosophical direction. Through Nausiphanes he encountered both Democritus's thought and Pyrrhonian skepticism simultaneously, but later sought to diminish the influence of this teacher. Yet the atomistic worldview permeates the whole of Epicurean philosophy. The original modification of the random swerve of atoms is the product of thought aimed at resolving the problem of free will after reading Democritus. This modification — carving a space for freedom within a deterministic universe — transforms Epicurus from a mere inheritor into an original thinker.
The Garden school he founded in Athens is the institutionalization of Epicurus's attitude toward appreciation. In a community that shared simple meals while discussing philosophy, books were not solitary reading but mediators of conversation. Reading texts together and debating them with companions such as Hermarchus, Metrodorus, and Colotes was the daily life of the Garden. This is a reading community based on friendship, distinct from Plato's Academy or Aristotle's Lyceum. It was a revolutionary space for its time, in that women and slaves could also participate.
For Epicurus, the goal of appreciation is ataraxia — tranquility of mind. The teaching not to fear death is the ethical transformation of Democritean materialism, and the counsel to "remember that you once desired what you now possess" shows philosophy not as knowledge within texts but as an attitude toward life. For this thinker who spoke of happiness while living on bread and water in the Garden, appreciation is not the art of possession but the art of sufficiency.
The Garden school he founded in Athens is the institutionalization of Epicurus's attitude toward appreciation. In a community that shared simple meals while discussing philosophy, books were not solitary reading but mediators of conversation. Reading texts together and debating them with companions such as Hermarchus, Metrodorus, and Colotes was the daily life of the Garden. This is a reading community based on friendship, distinct from Plato's Academy or Aristotle's Lyceum. It was a revolutionary space for its time, in that women and slaves could also participate.
For Epicurus, the goal of appreciation is ataraxia — tranquility of mind. The teaching not to fear death is the ethical transformation of Democritean materialism, and the counsel to "remember that you once desired what you now possess" shows philosophy not as knowledge within texts but as an attitude toward life. For this thinker who spoke of happiness while living on bread and water in the Garden, appreciation is not the art of possession but the art of sufficiency.
Cultural Journey
How cultural experiences shaped this figure's life
Epicurus is the man who read Democritus and found his philosophical direction. Through Nausiphanes he encountered both Democritus's thought and Pyrrhonian skepticism simultaneously, but later sought to diminish the influence of this teacher. Yet the atomistic worldview permeates the whole of Epicurean philosophy. The original modification of the random swerve of atoms is the product of thought aimed at resolving the problem of free will after reading Democritus. This modification — carving a space for freedom within a deterministic universe — transforms Epicurus from a mere inheritor into an original thinker.
The Garden school he founded in Athens is the institutionalization of Epicurus's attitude toward appreciation. In a community that shared simple meals while discussing philosophy, books were not solitary reading but mediators of conversation. Reading texts together and debating them with companions such as Hermarchus, Metrodorus, and Colotes was the daily life of the Garden. This is a reading community based on friendship, distinct from Plato's Academy or Aristotle's Lyceum. It was a revolutionary space for its time, in that women and slaves could also participate.
For Epicurus, the goal of appreciation is ataraxia — tranquility of mind. The teaching not to fear death is the ethical transformation of Democritean materialism, and the counsel to "remember that you once desired what you now possess" shows philosophy not as knowledge within texts but as an attitude toward life. For this thinker who spoke of happiness while living on bread and water in the Garden, appreciation is not the art of possession but the art of sufficiency.
The Garden school he founded in Athens is the institutionalization of Epicurus's attitude toward appreciation. In a community that shared simple meals while discussing philosophy, books were not solitary reading but mediators of conversation. Reading texts together and debating them with companions such as Hermarchus, Metrodorus, and Colotes was the daily life of the Garden. This is a reading community based on friendship, distinct from Plato's Academy or Aristotle's Lyceum. It was a revolutionary space for its time, in that women and slaves could also participate.
For Epicurus, the goal of appreciation is ataraxia — tranquility of mind. The teaching not to fear death is the ethical transformation of Democritean materialism, and the counsel to "remember that you once desired what you now possess" shows philosophy not as knowledge within texts but as an attitude toward life. For this thinker who spoke of happiness while living on bread and water in the Garden, appreciation is not the art of possession but the art of sufficiency.
S i g n a t u r eL i n e s
Quote
“If you reduce your desires and maintain the tranquility of ataraxia, even a simple daily life would be true happiness.”
Greeting
“A simple meal gives the same pleasure as a luxurious banquet.”
“Death is nothing to us.”
“Freedom from bodily pain and from disturbance of the soul — that is happiness.”
Roll Call
“I am ready to go forth with the friends of the Garden.”
“My mind is at peace. Let us proceed.”
“I depart from the state of ataraxia.”
Deploy
“Tear down the walls of fear and superstition!”
“Cut away the unnecessary desires!”
“Expand the Garden of tranquility!”
Victory
“This moment free of pain — that itself is pleasure.”
“The real victory is taking no more than is needed.”
“To live hidden and to win — nothing could be better.”
Draw
“If the mind is undisturbed, a draw is tranquil too.”
“If even death holds no fear, why worry about a draw?”
“Return to the Garden and talk with friends — that is enough.”
Defeat
“Pain that is endurable can be endured; pain that is unbearable is brief.”
“A crust of bread is enough, and so one defeat is bearable.”
“As long as the soul's tranquility is not lost, all is well.”
Strike
“Scatter the atoms of fear!”
“Break the chains of superstition!”
“Awaken the enemy to the true meaning of pleasure!”
Quote
“If you reduce your desires and maintain the tranquility of ataraxia, even a simple daily life would be true happiness.”
Greeting
“A simple meal gives the same pleasure as a luxurious banquet.”
“Death is nothing to us.”
“Freedom from bodily pain and from disturbance of the soul — that is happiness.”
Roll Call
“I am ready to go forth with the friends of the Garden.”
“My mind is at peace. Let us proceed.”
“I depart from the state of ataraxia.”
Deploy
“Tear down the walls of fear and superstition!”
“Cut away the unnecessary desires!”
“Expand the Garden of tranquility!”
Victory
“This moment free of pain — that itself is pleasure.”
“The real victory is taking no more than is needed.”
“To live hidden and to win — nothing could be better.”
Draw
“If the mind is undisturbed, a draw is tranquil too.”
“If even death holds no fear, why worry about a draw?”
“Return to the Garden and talk with friends — that is enough.”
Defeat
“Pain that is endurable can be endured; pain that is unbearable is brief.”
“A crust of bread is enough, and so one defeat is bearable.”
“As long as the soul's tranquility is not lost, all is well.”
Strike
“Scatter the atoms of fear!”
“Break the chains of superstition!”
“Awaken the enemy to the true meaning of pleasure!”
P e r s o n aA n a l y s i s
Overview
Extreme temperance combined with high reflection formed a community-oriented intellectual who completed a philosophy of happiness through simple living. His open benevolence created a unique school culture that embraced the marginalized, while cautious and reclusive disposition directed his energy toward internal community rather than public debate.
Core Abilities
Command58
Martial20
Intellect87
Charm75
Inner Virtues
Temperance95
Diligence82
Reflection88
Courage72
Outer Virtues
Loyalty70
Benevolence80
Fairness71
Humility68
Core Disposition
Pessimism
Optimism
Conservative
Progressive
Individual
Social
Cautious
Bold
Similar Figures
Overview
Extreme temperance combined with high reflection formed a community-oriented intellectual who completed a philosophy of happiness through simple living. His open benevolence created a unique school culture that embraced the marginalized, while cautious and reclusive disposition directed his energy toward internal community rather than public debate.
Core Abilities
Command58
Martial20
Intellect87
Charm75
Inner Virtues
Temperance95
Diligence82
Reflection88
Courage72
Outer Virtues
Loyalty70
Benevolence80
Fairness71
Humility68
Core Disposition
Pessimism
Optimism
Conservative
Progressive
Individual
Social
Cautious
Bold
Similar Figures
G u e s t b o o k
No guestbook entries yet.
No guestbook entries yet.