Epicurus

Timeline

1. c. -341–-306Samos · AegeanBorn on Samos to a family of Athenian colonists, he went to Athens at eighteen for military service, then studied across Asia Minor, learning the Platonic school, the Cyrenaic school, and Democritus's atomism, gradually forming his own philosophical views.
2. -306–-270Athens · AtticaIn 306 BCE he purchased a garden in Athens to establish his school, living and teaching with his pupils, writing extensively on atomism, epistemology, and ethics, and advocating that tranquility of mind be attained through friendship, simple living, and philosophical contemplation.
3. -280–-270Athens · AtticaThough afflicted by kidney stones in his later years, he continued writing ethical letters such as the Letter to Menoeceus, summarizing his life's teachings; he died in Athens in 270 BCE, and the school was carried on by Hermarchus and other pupils, spreading widely throughout the Hellenistic world.