His Life
Epicurus was born in 342 BC. on the island of Samos, to his father Neocles, a school-master, and his mother Chaeristrata, who practiced arts and magic. His father was an Athenian by birth and by right, but moved to Samos along with 2000 others in 352 BC. Epicurus began to study philosophy at age 14, in an unsuccessful attempt to understand Hesoid's description of Chaos. At age 18 he moved to Athens, he left after a very short time to live with his father in Colophon because he disagreed with the actions of Perdiccas after Alexander the Great's death. In 310 BC, he went to Mitylene to set up a school. However, he only stayed there a year before moving on to Lampsacus where he taught for four years. In 306 BC he returned to Athens, and started his school, the Epicurean. He bought a garden, the Khpoi Epikoupou, for eighty miuae, which was about $1,450. He remained in Athens teaching and lecturing his disciples in his garden for the rest of his life, with a few trips to visit friends in Asia Minor.
Epicurus' school was opened at a perfect time because Athens had a liberal attitude and Art, Literature, and Philosophy were growing popular. His school was very fashionable and people would come from miles to hear him lecture, people would abandon their own schools to join Epicurus', in the history of the Epicurean only two people left him for another teacher. Epicurus and his people lived in his garden in brotherly friendship (like hippies). One of the poeple who left Epicurus' school and started the Timocrates used to gossip that Epicurus would vomit twice a day after eating alot and that he had prostitutes living in his garden.
In 270 BC, at the age of 72, Epicurus died of what we would call a kidney stone but at the time was called a stone in the bladder and left his garden to Hermachus who left it to Polystratus after his death. After Polystratus' death it is unknown who owned Epicurus' school but it did live on. Epicurus' doctrines were later adopted by Romans Lucretius, Atticus, and Horace, even though they did not fit the beliefs held by most at the time.