"Was Atticus an Epicurean?"

Gilbert, Nathan

Abstract

This chapter claims that Atticus offers a fruitful case study of Epicureanism in the late Republic and can thereby contribute to broader questions of philosophical allegiance in the ancient world. There has, of course, been valuable discussion of philosophical allegiance in recent years. A reconsideration of Atticus’ Epicureanism will fruitfully extend these debates precisely because he is a not a perfect fit for any of these categories. He was not a professional philosopher; in any case, it is dangerous to assume that the thunderings of Lucretius or Philodemus on the Epicurean wise man map reliably onto the complexities of life, especially in the case of Atticus.

Citation

Gilbert, N. (2022). "Was Atticus an Epicurean?". In S. Yona, & G. Davis (Eds.), Epicurus in Rome: Philosophical Perspectives in the Ciceronian Age (55-71). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108954402.005

• Online Publication Date: Jan 13, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022-01
• Deposit Date: Mar 8, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 3, 2022
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Pages: 55-71
• Book Title: Epicurus in Rome: Philosophical Perspectives in the Ciceronian Age
• Chapter Number: 4
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108954402.005
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1669190
• Contract Date: Nov 30, 2018