Hi there, you're listening to the Hellenistic Age podcast.

Episode 44, Hellenistic philosophy, Epicurus and Epicureanism.

In 323 BC, Aristotle, the last member of the quote-unquote holy trinity of classical Greek philosophers, which includes Socrates and Plato, would die shortly after the death of his

greatest pupil, Alexander the Great.

In some respects, this is the end of what is typically thought of as Greek philosophy.

The Platonic and Aristotelian schools continue to dominate much of our framework, and in some

sense this is understandable, given that the philosophies

that emerged during the Hellenistic period did not surpass their predecessors in popularity,

nor did they outlast them. Whatever did manage to make it into the public's perception is

either limited to misinterpretations, entertaining, if vulgar anecdotes, of a certain cynic,

or a surface-level understanding adopted

by MBA graduates in Silicon Valley. Yet, the emergence of the Hellenistic world came with it

a burst of new and sometimes radical schools and ideas in response to the rapidly changing

world around them. Trying to create an approximate outline of how to deal with the

various philosophical schools was a bit of a challenge. Entire university courses could be taught

on the various aspects of each school's belief structure, from epistemology to ethics and metaphysics,

and frankly, that is beyond the scope of this show. Above all else, I am running a history-based podcast, but to only focus on the historical background

of each group would be a great disservice to you.

Sure, the often graphic stories of Diogenes are wildly entertaining, but the doctrines of the

doctrines of the Stoic, Epicurean, and skeptic philosophers played an important role in facilitating the great scientific

achievements of the Hellenistic period and have far-reaching influence in not only the

Western philosophical tradition, as it is generally called, but also the later theology of

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