Category: Introductory Material
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The Ideal Epicurean Woman? Exhibit 1: Plotina, Wife of the Emperor Trajan
Perhaps the most famous woman in history of whom we have a portrait, and of whom we can reasonably believe was a devout Epicurean, was Plotina, wife of the Emperor...
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Peace and Safety For Your Twentieth of December!
Peace and Safety to the Epicureans of today, no matter where you might be! Today I would like to acknowledge my appreciation for the work of Stefan Streitferdt, who recently...
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Epicurus’ Citations To Homer
As Norman DeWitt explained, there are several passages by Homer of particular interest to the study of Epicurean philosophy: … Epicurus possessed another weapon capable of administering perhaps a meaner...
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More Thoughts on Presenting The Basics of Epicureanism
The brilliant video of Stephen Greenblatt has me thinking of additional topics that might be covered in presenting Epicureanism, so I want to expand on my earlier post: One thing...
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Gibbon, The Immortality of the Soul, and Epicureanism Among Women – Part I
Several recent emails and Facebook posts have me thinking about a phenomena that seems even more rare today than that of men who publicly embrace Epicurus’ Principle Doctrines: women who...
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Love, Marriage, and the Epicurean in the Modern World
This past week I received a very interesting set of emails from a fan of Epicurus by the name of Maruli Marulaki, who related to me her desire to find...
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Cicero’s “Defense of Epicurus” – And An Invitation To Speak for Epicurus Today
I have mentioned on this blog before that Charlton Griffin’s audiobook recording of Lucretius’ On The Nature of Things was my real introduction to the world of Epicureanism. I have...
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Reflections on Epicurean Ethics
A recent discussion on Facebook prompted the following reflections, which I want to summarize on the NewEpicurean blog for future reference. The discussion was prompted in part by a common...
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A Season of the Year To Remember Fallen Epicureans
One of the things that motivates me in the study of Epicureanism is the knowledge that two thousand years ago a very large living breathing group of people walked the...
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I Tell You Now — You, All Of You, Were Free From Your First Breath
Years before I became familiar with Epicurus, I was aware of the importance of free will, and I knew there were aspects of Roman civilization worthy of admiration. At that...