The influential historiographer of philosophy Eduard Zeller, in his monumental Die Philosophie der Griechen, criticized the ‘philosophical sterility’ and ‘intellectual torpor’ of the Epicurean school, which, he claimed, remained more than any of its rivals confined throughout its history to the utterances of its founder. In his abridged Grundriß der Geschichte der griechischen Philosophie, Zeller went so far as to assert that none of Epicurus' successors ‘made any attempt worth mentioning’ to the development of the school's doctrines. A survey of much more recent histories of Hellenistic philosophy confirms that these stereotypes, which find antecedents already in antiquity, have proven persistent. As a consequence, studies of Epicurean philosophy remain disproportionately studies of Epicurus' philosophy. The present collection represents an attempt to help correct this imbalance and the misperceptions that sustain it. The essays contained herein explore various aspects of the interplay between tradition and innovation within Epicureanism.

That interplay begins with Epicurus himself, who was both heir to a rich philosophical tradition and the founder of a new philosophical school. The opening essay by Michael Erler, ‘Autodidact and student: on the relationship of authority and autonomy in Epicurus and the Epicurean tradition’, explores how Epicurus balanced these two contrasting roles. Critics both ancient and modern have viewed Epicurus' repeated, emphatic declarations of his own independence and originality as transparent attempts to mask the extent of his indebtedness to various predecessors.

INTRODUCTION

Attempts to dispel fear of death by claiming that life continues on in some fashion post mortem are commonplace. Such was not, however, the approach adopted by the ancient Epicureans. On the contrary, Epicurus is frequently credited with originating the argument that death is not to be feared, precisely because it is the end of existence. That no person survives his own death is a proposition to which the Epicureans are unquestionably committed. It is also true that Epicurus and his followers consistently represent fear of death as one of the greatest impediments to human flourishing. Nevertheless, Epicurean attitudes toward death and its associated fears turn out to be considerably more nuanced than generally recognized.

To speak of the fear of death already risks obscuring the protean nature of the phenomenon in question. People in fact fear a diversity of things related to death for equally diverse reasons. The Epicureans are sometimes accused of failing to appreciate, or at least to have addressed, this actual multiplicity of death-related fears. Such accusations are unwarranted, as several recent commentators have convincingly demonstrated. Epicurean sources in fact contain arguments directed at many distinct fears of death. What has yet to be fully appreciated is the degree to which Epicureanism is able to countenance at least certain of these fears.