ALL CURRENT AND PROSPECTIVE PARTICIPANTS SHOULD READ THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT OF FORUM EDITORIAL POLICY: "Against Katastematic Supremacy - Pleasure Is A Unified Good, Not A House Divided Against Itself."
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Recent Activities
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Kalosyni
July 24, 2026 at 1:00 PM Wrote the blog article Why Pleasure as a Unified Whole is the Telos in Classical Epicurean Philosophy.Blog ArticleWhy Pleasure as a Unified Whole is the Telos in Classical Epicurean Philosophy
Contemplations by Kalosyni
The correct understanding of Classical Epicurean philosophy begins with Epicurus's own declaration that pleasure is the telos, or ultimate goal,… -
Cassius
July 24, 2026 at 11:18 AM Replied to the thread Epicurus And Homer's Odyssey.PostI know that PD06 has translation issues, but In this discussion of deception both it (especially in Bailey's preferred reading) and other statements about the result being what matters probably has a bearing on Epicurus' attitude toward deception and… -
Kalosyni
July 24, 2026 at 11:15 AM Posted the thread First Monday "Meet-and-Greet" Via Zoom- August 3, 2026 - 8pm ET.ThreadHi Everyone!
We are planning a New Member Meet-and-Greet Zoom, for Monday, August 3, 2026 - 8pm ET -- This Zoom meeting is open to registered members of the forum and new members who have fully completed their registration process.
EpicureanFriends.com… -
Cassius
July 24, 2026 at 11:10 AM Replied to the thread Epicurus And Homer's Odyssey.PostListening to the first part of that reminds me that PENELOPE is also using deception to put off the suitors - but of course only an extreme Stoic would fault her for that?
The role of deception here and how to evaluate it is clearly critical --- and I'd… -
Cassius
July 24, 2026 at 11:04 AM Replied to the thread Epicurus And Homer's Odyssey.Post[…]
That British accent really adds a lot - and the humor too! -
Lowri834
July 24, 2026 at 10:52 AM Replied to the thread Epicurus And Homer's Odyssey.PostIn case anyone wants some background on The Odyssey, also mentions the lying…
A fun half hour summary of The Odyssey.
Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics
Homer: The Odyssey
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001brj5
Also available on podcast apps -
Cassius
July 24, 2026 at 10:34 AM Replied to the thread Epicurus And Homer's Odyssey.PostThis below is going to be far from authoritative but the citations give a place to start answering the question: How did the ancient Greeks view Odysseus? Hero, or deceiver? Give me ancient quotations with citations to back up your answer.
(Hidden… -
Cassius
July 24, 2026 at 10:08 AM Replied to the thread Epicurus And Homer's Odyssey.Post[…]
Yes this is very fascinating to me and the reason that I've never been certain what is really going on here.
That gets at specifically the issues I want to know about:
Did the ANCIENT GREEKS see Odysseus as first and foremost a liar? Or did they approve… -
Bryan
July 24, 2026 at 10:01 AM Replied to the thread Epicurus And Homer's Odyssey.PostHomer’s Odysseus is, first and foremost, a liar. His truth is whatever benefits him.
Odysseus lies to Polyphemus by calling himself “Nobody,” to Athena with a false Cretan identity, to Eumaeus with an invented life story, to the suitors by posing as a… -
Cassius
July 24, 2026 at 7:46 AM Replied to the thread Epicurus And Homer's Odyssey.PostI have updated this thread title and added Youtube links (into post 1 above) to the TV Miniseries production starring Armand Assante, Isabella Rossellini, Vanessa Williams, and many others.
We can certainly discuss the differences between this and the new… -
Cassius
PostJuly 23, 2026 at 1:18 PM Update On This Thread -- I have split this quotation and subsequent responses so we can focus on it with greater focus.
Clearly Diogenes Laertius and Torquatus make statements to the effect that "the wise man is always happy."
Nevertheless Epicurus did not… -
Aristos
July 22, 2026 at 1:15 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Aristos!.PostSince I am still unable to participate fully in the forum, I wanted to share a piece of secondary literature that I recently came across and have been actively reading these days. The author is Ivan Nišavić, a local scholar from my region, and the work… -
Cassius
July 22, 2026 at 10:58 AM Replied to the thread Metrodorus project.PostDehorting -- that's a new one for me, but traces right back to the latin as opposite of exhort - which isn't so archaic!
Dehorting is the present participle/gerund of the rare/archaic verb "dehort".MeaningTo dehort = to strongly advise against something,… -
TauPhi
July 22, 2026 at 10:52 AM Replied to the thread Metrodorus project.Post[…]
It's not. Please compare:
https://archive.org/details/plutar…2up?q=dehorting
[…]
I can't answer this conclusively. Here's what Parente has to say about this fragment:
It's the Sent. Vat. LI, clarified as a letter by the papyrus discovery; see VOGLIANO,… -
Cassius
July 22, 2026 at 6:47 AM Replied to the thread Metrodorus project.PostSo this is from Metrodorus and not Epicurus himself? Seems to me I hear this attributed to Epicurus so if it is not that is a misunderstanding that needs correcting.
TO PYTHOCLES:
Sent. Vat. LI (= Pap. Berol. 16369, col. II) [20]
You tell me that the… -
Cassius
July 22, 2026 at 6:44 AM Replied to the thread Philodemus' "On Anger" - General - Texts and Resources.PostFrom Tau Phi's collection of works of Metrodorus:
PHILODEMUS, On Anger, col. XLV [7]
In fact, Epicurus makes clear in his First Appellations both that the sage “will experience rage” and (will experience it) “in moderation,” and Metrodorus, if he… -
Cassius
July 22, 2026 at 6:37 AM Replied to the thread Metrodorus project.PostTau Phi I have a question here - is this "dehorting" a typo?
PLUTARCH, Against Colotes, 34, 1127 d [5]
If those who abolish laws, governments, and polices of men subvert
and destroy human life, and if Metrodorus and Epicurus do this, by
dehorting and… -
Cassius
July 22, 2026 at 6:21 AM Replied to the thread Key Citations - Nothing Is Supernatural - No Gods Over Nature.PostThe following quote from Tau Phi's recent collection of quotations by or about Metrodorus is relevant to this topic of whether all things that have a beginning must have an end. It's also relevant to DeWitt's point that for Epicurus the gods are not… -
Cassius
July 22, 2026 at 6:18 AM Replied to the thread Must All Things That Have A Beginning Have An End?.PostThe following quote from Tau Phi's recent collection of quotations by or about Metrodorus is relevant to this topic of whether all things that have a beginning must have an end. It's also relevant to DeWitt's point that for Epicurus the gods are not… -
Cassius
July 22, 2026 at 6:09 AM Replied to the thread Key Citations On Atoms, Void, and Emergence.PostFrom Tau Phi's recent collection on the works of Metrodorus I want to add this here under a list of quotes relevant to emergence.
It is pretty confusingly worded, or confusingly translated, or both, but it seems to me to be pretty clearly talking about a… -
Cassius
July 22, 2026 at 5:46 AM Replied to the thread Metrodorus project.PostHere is one of the many useful quotes here that we need to be able to find very often. Lately it seems like every mention of Epicurus is accompanied by the assertion that he lived on bread and water (they like to throw in ....and a little cheese) when… -
Cassius
July 21, 2026 at 9:49 PM Added the file The Life And Works of Metrodorus of Lampsacus.FileThe attached PDF contains 100 fragments related to Metrodorus' life and works. The document includes both ancient testimonia and extant fragments. It's divided into two sections: Life and Works. The first one focuses on Metrodorus' biography; the second… -
Cassius
July 21, 2026 at 9:45 PM Replied to the thread Metrodorus project.PostOutstanding Tau Phi thank you! I'm setting this up in the files section now and will post the link below.
The Life And Works of Metrodorus of Lampsacus -
Cassius
PostJuly 21, 2026 at 9:42 PM […]
I have no problem at all with anything that you wrote as being consistent with the policy. As you state in your last paragraph it is difficult and controversial to decide which pleasures are actially kinetic and katastematic in the first place. On… -
TauPhi
July 21, 2026 at 8:29 PM Posted the thread Metrodorus project.ThreadThis is going to be a longer post, so here's a brief summary of what this is about:
The attached PDF contains 100 fragments related to Metrodorus' life and works. The document includes both ancient testimonia and extant fragments. It's divided into two… -
Aristos
July 21, 2026 at 4:14 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Aristos!.PostThanks, Martin 🤝🍻 -
Martin
July 21, 2026 at 2:53 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Aristos!.PostWelcome Aristos! -
Cassius
July 21, 2026 at 2:37 PM Posted the thread Episode 344 - EATAQ26 - Not Yet Recorded.ThreadWelcome to Episode 343 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the… -
Cassius
July 21, 2026 at 2:32 PM Replied to the thread Episode 343 - EATAQ25 - In The Search For Knowledge, Is "Probable" Good Enough?.PostEpisode 343 of the Lucretius Today Podcast is now available. This week our episode is entitled: "In The Search For Knowledge, Is 'Probable' Good Enough?"
[media]https://www.spreaker.com/episode/73091250/media -
Cassius
July 21, 2026 at 11:52 AM Replied to the thread Welcome Aristos!.PostGlad to have you! -
Aristos
July 21, 2026 at 11:26 AM Replied to the thread Welcome Aristos!.PostHi everyone,
Im looking forward to fruitful discussions, and I promise to participate as much as my time and responsibilities allow.
🤝 -
Cassius
July 20, 2026 at 5:34 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Aristos!.PostAristos tells us this:
I'm from Serbia, and I'm 30 years old. I'm a food technology engineer by profession, with a wide range of interests and hobbies related to cooking, beverages, metalworking, 3D printing, and many other pursuits.
I've been studying… -
Cassius
PostJuly 20, 2026 at 3:02 PM Good to hear from you Charles.
If we can't be clear in Epicurean philosophy about the centrality of pleasure, we don't need to be talking about Epicurean philosophy at all.
Might was well also forget the positions on gods and death - which not… -
Cassius
July 20, 2026 at 2:59 PM Posted the thread Welcome Aristos!.ThreadWelcome Aristos
There is one last step to complete your registration: All new registrants must email Cassius so that this Welcome Thread can contain basic information about your background and interest in Epicurus. In that email, please tell us what… -
Charles
PostJuly 20, 2026 at 2:09 PM I admire the clarity of purpose as of late in combatting this idea. It's been some time since I've engaged with Stoic and Christian communities online but this was always the primary charge they levied on Epicurus, which in their mind was humoring him.… -
Godfrey
July 20, 2026 at 1:25 PM Replied to the thread July 20, 2026.PostHappy Twentieth to all! -
Kalosyni
July 20, 2026 at 11:24 AM Replied to the thread The Completeness (or Fullness) of Pleasure.Post[…]
My analogy may not work for everyone...I was thinking about it this way:
If you were invited over to someone's house for dinner, and they served you a full dinner, but did not serve anything at all to drink with the dinner (no water, no lemonade, no… -
Bryan
July 20, 2026 at 10:58 AM Replied to the thread The Completeness (or Fullness) of Pleasure.PostI’ll admit I do not think this fits. A drink is just another pleasure within the meal, not the thing that gives all the other pleasures their order and security. This makes established pleasures sound like an optional side item.
In my analogy from… -
Cassius
ThreadJuly 20, 2026 at 9:49 AM -
Cassius
Blog ArticleJuly 20, 2026 at 9:47 AM […]
Centuries of commentators have treated this and similar statements as an invitation to make something other than pleasure the real goal of Epicurean philosophy -- a neutral resting state, a merely negative condition, a "tranquility" or "static… -
Kalosyni
July 20, 2026 at 8:20 AM Posted the thread The Completeness (or Fullness) of Pleasure.ThreadHere is a possible analogy for the "completeness" of pleasure:
A meal served without something to drink would be considered incomplete...
"a meal" = all the many varied pleasures of life
"something to drink" = removing fears of death & gods and adding in… -
Kalosyni
July 20, 2026 at 7:51 AM Posted the thread July 20, 2026.Thread
Happy Twentieth Everyone!
Listen to the Epicurus Rap - Free as Epicurus!
m.youtube.com/watch?v=66yOo7bZ0mA -
Cassius
July 19, 2026 at 6:44 PM Replied to the thread World's Worst Epicurus Videos.PostLooks to me like the same person is generating these - and apparently isn't through yet -
youtube.com/watch?v=oUL7PfH6XlA -
Cassius
PostJuly 19, 2026 at 5:45 PM […]
There's a significant amount of variation involved and not everyone states this explicitly, but we can start with the effect that the contextless assertion that the goal is 'absence of pain' does not imply that what is left is any kind of sensation at… -
Kalosyni
July 19, 2026 at 4:22 PM Replied to the thread Epigram on the Twentieth.PostSince tomorrow is the Twentieth... I am thinking again about this quote: "To-morrow, dearest Piso, your friend, beloved by the Muses, who keeps our annual feast of the twentieth invites you to come after the ninth hour to his simple cottage. If you miss… -
Bryan
PostJuly 19, 2026 at 3:09 PM […]
I agree. For Epicurus, every experience is sensory. There is no experience without sensation.
To such an extent is this true that “Pathos” – which is the word usually translated as “feeling” in Epicurean texts – IS the Greek word “experience.”
Feeling =… -
Godfrey
PostJuly 19, 2026 at 2:39 PM […]
I haven't heard that word in quite some time... especially in a philosophical discussion
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