PHILOSOPHER

Epicurus

341 BC - 269 BC

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Epicurus (, EH-pih-KURE-əs; Ancient Greek: Ἐπίκουρος Epikouros; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy that asserted that philosophy's purpose is to attain as well as to help others attain tranquil lives, characterized by freedom from fear and the absence of pain. Epicurus advocated that people were best able to pursue philosophy by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends; he and his followers were known for eating simple meals and discussing a wide range of philosophical subjects at "the Garden", the school he established in Athens. Epicurus taught that although the gods exist, they have no involvement in human affairs. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Epicurus is the 28th most popular philosopher (down from 23rd in 2019), the 11th most popular biography from Greece (up from 12th in 2019) and the 6th most popular Greek Philosopher.

Epicurus is most famous for his philosophy of hedonism, which is the idea that the greatest pleasure is the absence of pain. He also believed that the soul dies with the body, and that there is no afterlife.

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Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Epicurus ranks 28 out of 1,267. Before him are Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, John Locke, Arthur Schopenhauer, Montesquieu, Democritus, and Seneca the Younger. After him are Averroes, Al-Ghazali, Thomas Hobbes, Friedrich Engels, Auguste Comte, and Martin Heidegger.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 341 BC, Epicurus ranks 1. After him is Emperor Kōrei. Among people deceased in 269 BC, Epicurus ranks 1. After him is Strato of Lampsacus.

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In Greece

Among people born in Greece, Epicurus ranks 11 out of 1,024. Before him are Socrates (-470), Pythagoras (-570), Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881), Hippocrates (-460), Sophocles (-497), and Democritus (-460). After him are Solon (-638), Pericles (-494), Aristophanes (-448), El Greco (1541), Euripides (-480), and Saint Stephen (1).

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In Greece

Among philosophers born in Greece, Epicurus ranks 6. Before him are Aristotle (-384), Plato (-427), Socrates (-470), Pythagoras (-570), and Democritus (-460). After him are Plutarch (46), Protagoras (-486), Gorgias (-483), Theophrastus (-371), Apollodorus of Athens (-180), and Antisthenes (-445).

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