Epicurus (341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher who founded a school of philosophy now called Epicureanism. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. He turned against the Platonism of his day and, under the influence of the teachings of Democritus, Aristotle, and possibly the Cynics, he founded his own school, The Garden, in Athens, where he and his followers ate simple meals and conversed on philosophical subjects. An extremely prolific writer, he is said to have originally written over 300 works on various subjects, but the vast majority of these writings have been lost. Only three letters written by him—the Letters to Menoeceus, Pythocles, and Herodotus—and two collections of quotes—the Principle Doctrines and the Vatican Sayings—have survived complete, along with a few fragments and quotations of his other writings. His teachings are better recorded in the writings of later authors, including the Roman poet Lucretius, the philosopher Sextus Empiricus, and the biographer Diogenes Laërtius.
