Epicurus opened a school in Athens called the Garden. It admitted women and slaves, which was unusual at the time. The goal was not indulgence but tranquility. Pleasure, for Epicurus, meant the absence of pain and disturbance, not the pursuit of luxury. A simple meal, good company, and freedom from fear were enough. The highest pleasure was ataraxia, a calm state of mind, and aponia, freedom from bodily pain.

Epicureanism is often misunderstood as hedonism. Epicurus warned against overindulgence, because it leads to pain. He recommended moderation, friendship, and philosophy as the path to a good life. On death, he argued that it is nothing to us: when we are, death is not; when death is, we are not. Fear of death is irrational and ruins life. He also endorsed a form of atomism, following Democritus, holding that the universe consists of atoms and void. The gods, if they exist, do not intervene in human affairs. Lucretius, a Roman poet, expounded Epicurean philosophy in On the Nature of Things, which influenced modern science and secular thought.

Epicurean principles

• Pleasure. The absence of pain and disturbance.
• Moderation. Avoid excess, which brings pain.
• Friendship. A primary source of happiness.
• Death. Nothing to fear, since it is not experienced.

Epicureanism is a practical philosophy. It asks how to live well, not just how to think correctly.