Epicurus in Rome: Philosophical Perspectives in the Ciceronian Age

Description

The role of Greek thought in the final days of the Roman republic is a topic that has garnered much attention in recent years. This volume of essays, commissioned specially from a distinguished international group of scholars, explores the role and influence of Greek philosophy, specifically Epicureanism, in the late republic. It focuses primarily (although not exclusively) on the works and views of Cicero, premier politician and Roman philosopher of the day, and Lucretius, foremost among the representatives and supporters of Epicureanism at the time. Throughout the volume, the impact of such disparate reception on the part of these leading authors is explored in a way that illuminates the popularity as well as the controversy attached to the followers of Epicurus in Italy, ranging from ethical and political concerns to the understanding of scientific and celestial phenomena. Cover Half-title Title page Copyright information Contents List of Illustrations List of Contributors Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Introduction Part I Epicurus and Roman Identities Chapter 2 Sint Ista Graecorum: How to be an Epicurean in Late Republican Rome - Evidence from Cicero's On Ends 1-2 A Philosophy for Dummies all over the World? The Greek Perspective of On Ends 1-2 What about the Romans in On Ends 1-2? Conclusion Chapter 3 Cicero's Rhetoric of Anti-Epicureanism: Anonymity as Critique Circumlocution Epicurean Fundamentals Soul Mortality Likeness to Animals Emphasis on Measuring and Quantification Conclusions Chapter 4 Was Atticus an Epicurean? Was Atticus an Epicurean? Problem Passages and Cicero's ''Conversion Tactics'' Does It Matter? Chapter 5 Caesar the Epicurean? A Matter of Life and Death Chapter 6 Otium and Voluptas: Catullus and Roman Epicureanism Catullan amicitia vs. Epicurean φιλία Friendship, Patronage and Politics vesanus Catullus Conclusion Part II Epicurus and Lucretian Postures Chapter 7 ''Love It or Leave It'': Nature's Ultimatum in Lucretius' On the Nature of Things (3.931-962) An Overview and Some Questions Nature's Audience Nature as Speaker Nature's Abundance The Natural Sameness of Things Conclusion Chapter 8 Kitsch, Death and the Epicurean Putrefaction misero misere A Parallel from Philodemus Epicureanism into Kitsch Conclusion: Anti-Kitsch as Frank Criticism Chapter 9 Page, Stage, Image: Confronting Ennius with Lucretius' On the Nature of Things Introduction Pyrrhus and Epicurus Iphigenia Pergama partu Ennius noster Chapter 10 Lucretius on the Size of the Sun The Texts Ancient and Modern Doxographies Complications in Lucretian Language Size of the Sun as Didactic Challenge Size of the Sun as Epicurean Shibboleth Bibliography General Index