1. New
    1. Member Announcements
  2. Home
    1. Get Started - Activities
    2. Posting Policies
    3. Community Standards
    4. Terms of Use
    5. Moderator Team
    6. Site Map
    7. Quizzes
    8. Articles
      1. Featured Articles
      2. Blog Posts at EpicureanFriends
  3. Wiki
    1. Wiki Home
    2. FAQ
    3. Classical Epicureanism
    4. Physics
    5. Canonics
    6. Ethics
    7. Search Assistance
    8. Not NeoEpicurean
    9. Foundations
    10. Navigation Outlines
    11. Key Pages
  4. Forum
    1. New Activity
    2. New Threads
    3. Welcome
    4. General Discussion
    5. Featured
    6. Activism
    7. Shortcuts
    8. Dashboard
    9. Full Forum List
    10. Level 3+
    11. Most Discussed
  5. Podcast
    1. Lucretius Today Podcast
    2. Episode Guide
    3. Lucretius Today At Youtube
    4. EpicureanFriends Youtube Page
  6. Texts
    1. Overview
    2. Diogenes Laertius
    3. Principal Doctrines
    4. Vatican Sayings
    5. Lucretius
    6. Herodotus
    7. Pythocles
    8. Menoeceus
    9. Fragments - Usener Collection
    10. Torquatus On Ethics
    11. Velleius On Gods
    12. Greek/Latin Help
  7. Gallery
    1. Featured images
    2. Albums
    3. Latest Images
    4. Latest Comments
  8. Calendar
    1. Upcoming Events List
    2. Zoom Meetings
    3. This Month
    4. First Monday Zoom Meetings
    5. Wednesday Zoom Meeting
    6. Twentieth Zoom Meetings
    7. Zoom Meetings
  9. Other
    1. Featured Content
    2. Blog Posts
    3. Files
    4. Logbook
    5. EF ToDo List
    6. Link-Database
  • Login
  • Register
  • Search
This Thread
  • Everywhere
  • This Thread
  • This Forum
  • Forum
  • Articles
  • Blog Articles
  • Files
  • Gallery
  • Events
  • Pages
  • Wiki
  • Help
  • FAQ
  • More Options

Welcome To EpicureanFriends.com!

"Remember that you are mortal, and you have a limited time to live, and in devoting yourself to discussion of the nature of time and eternity you have seen things that have been, are now, and are to come."

Sign In Now
or
Register a new account
  1. New
    1. Member Announcements
  2. Home
    1. Get Started - Activities
    2. Posting Policies
    3. Community Standards
    4. Terms of Use
    5. Moderator Team
    6. Site Map
    7. Quizzes
    8. Articles
      1. Featured Articles
      2. Blog Posts at EpicureanFriends
  3. Wiki
    1. Wiki Home
    2. FAQ
    3. Classical Epicureanism
    4. Physics
    5. Canonics
    6. Ethics
    7. Search Assistance
    8. Not NeoEpicurean
    9. Foundations
    10. Navigation Outlines
    11. Key Pages
  4. Forum
    1. New Activity
    2. New Threads
    3. Welcome
    4. General Discussion
    5. Featured
    6. Activism
    7. Shortcuts
    8. Dashboard
    9. Full Forum List
    10. Level 3+
    11. Most Discussed
  5. Podcast
    1. Lucretius Today Podcast
    2. Episode Guide
    3. Lucretius Today At Youtube
    4. EpicureanFriends Youtube Page
  6. Texts
    1. Overview
    2. Diogenes Laertius
    3. Principal Doctrines
    4. Vatican Sayings
    5. Lucretius
    6. Herodotus
    7. Pythocles
    8. Menoeceus
    9. Fragments - Usener Collection
    10. Torquatus On Ethics
    11. Velleius On Gods
    12. Greek/Latin Help
  7. Gallery
    1. Featured images
    2. Albums
    3. Latest Images
    4. Latest Comments
  8. Calendar
    1. Upcoming Events List
    2. Zoom Meetings
    3. This Month
    4. First Monday Zoom Meetings
    5. Wednesday Zoom Meeting
    6. Twentieth Zoom Meetings
    7. Zoom Meetings
  9. Other
    1. Featured Content
    2. Blog Posts
    3. Files
    4. Logbook
    5. EF ToDo List
    6. Link-Database
  1. New
    1. Member Announcements
  2. Home
    1. Get Started - Activities
    2. Posting Policies
    3. Community Standards
    4. Terms of Use
    5. Moderator Team
    6. Site Map
    7. Quizzes
    8. Articles
      1. Featured Articles
      2. Blog Posts at EpicureanFriends
  3. Wiki
    1. Wiki Home
    2. FAQ
    3. Classical Epicureanism
    4. Physics
    5. Canonics
    6. Ethics
    7. Search Assistance
    8. Not NeoEpicurean
    9. Foundations
    10. Navigation Outlines
    11. Key Pages
  4. Forum
    1. New Activity
    2. New Threads
    3. Welcome
    4. General Discussion
    5. Featured
    6. Activism
    7. Shortcuts
    8. Dashboard
    9. Full Forum List
    10. Level 3+
    11. Most Discussed
  5. Podcast
    1. Lucretius Today Podcast
    2. Episode Guide
    3. Lucretius Today At Youtube
    4. EpicureanFriends Youtube Page
  6. Texts
    1. Overview
    2. Diogenes Laertius
    3. Principal Doctrines
    4. Vatican Sayings
    5. Lucretius
    6. Herodotus
    7. Pythocles
    8. Menoeceus
    9. Fragments - Usener Collection
    10. Torquatus On Ethics
    11. Velleius On Gods
    12. Greek/Latin Help
  7. Gallery
    1. Featured images
    2. Albums
    3. Latest Images
    4. Latest Comments
  8. Calendar
    1. Upcoming Events List
    2. Zoom Meetings
    3. This Month
    4. First Monday Zoom Meetings
    5. Wednesday Zoom Meeting
    6. Twentieth Zoom Meetings
    7. Zoom Meetings
  9. Other
    1. Featured Content
    2. Blog Posts
    3. Files
    4. Logbook
    5. EF ToDo List
    6. Link-Database
  1. EpicureanFriends - Home of Classical Epicurean Philosophy
  2. Forum
  3. History, Culture, Customs, and Places
  4. Places of Interest to Epicurean History
  5. Pompeii General
  • Sidebar
  • Sidebar

Epicurus and the Pompeii Mosaic

  • Joshua
  • December 26, 2022 at 9:46 PM
  • Go to last post
Regularly Checking In On A Small Screen Device? Bookmark THIS page!
Western Hemisphere Zoom.  This Sunday, May 25, at 12:30 PM EDT, we will have another zoom meeting at a time more convenient for our non-USA participants.   This week we will combine general discussion with review of the question "What Would Epicurus Say About the Search For 'Meaning' In Life?" For more details check here.
  • Joshua
    05 - Administrator
    Points
    14,866
    Posts
    1,884
    Quizzes
    3
    Quiz rate
    95.8 %
    • December 26, 2022 at 9:46 PM
    • #1

    This is the School of Athens fiasco all over again. The mosaic:

    Appears to portray six Greek philosophers in various attitudes of respose, gathered around a central figure leaning against a tree, and thought to be Plato. As is frequently the case, no one can know for sure who the artist intended to portray. I have seen the second man from the right identified as Epicurus, though this is not the common assessment.

    In favor the Epicurus argument is this statue:

    In both statue and mosaic, the subject is featured with the right foot forward and the right forearm bent upward, holding a scroll. In the actual statue the head and right arm were lost, and the work was fitted with a different head and different limb. The hypothesized scroll in the hand was of course lost with the limb.

  • Joshua December 26, 2022 at 9:49 PM

    Changed the title of the thread from “Pompeii Mosaic [placeholder]” to “Epicurus and the Pompeii Mosaic”.
  • Joshua
    05 - Administrator
    Points
    14,866
    Posts
    1,884
    Quizzes
    3
    Quiz rate
    95.8 %
    • December 26, 2022 at 10:07 PM
    • #2

    Also notice the paw footed legs of both the chair, and the curved bench in the mosaic.

  • Don
    ΕΠΙΚΟΥΡΕΙΟΣ (Epicurist)
    Points
    39,539
    Posts
    5,513
    Quizzes
    9
    Quiz rate
    92.8 %
    • December 26, 2022 at 10:35 PM
    • #3

    I found this interesting in one of the papers referenced in the Wikipedia article:

    Quote

    Athens is visible in the upper right background, as well as what might be the Dipylon Gate with its bronze amphorae on top, which was not far from the academy.

    The Garden was supposed to be situated near the Dipylon Gate just outside the walls of the city. Plus, those boots on the statue and the shoes on the mosaic person sitting to the right look s lot alike.

  • Don
    ΕΠΙΚΟΥΡΕΙΟΣ (Epicurist)
    Points
    39,539
    Posts
    5,513
    Quizzes
    9
    Quiz rate
    92.8 %
    • December 26, 2022 at 10:43 PM
    • #4

    https://www.pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/VF/Villa_020.htm

  • Don
    ΕΠΙΚΟΥΡΕΙΟΣ (Epicurist)
    Points
    39,539
    Posts
    5,513
    Quizzes
    9
    Quiz rate
    92.8 %
    • December 26, 2022 at 11:21 PM
    • #5

    That guy seated on the left reminds me of Metrodorus from Autun.

  • Don
    ΕΠΙΚΟΥΡΕΙΟΣ (Epicurist)
    Points
    39,539
    Posts
    5,513
    Quizzes
    9
    Quiz rate
    92.8 %
    • December 27, 2022 at 7:57 AM
    • #6

    I was completely unaware of this mosaic. Thanks, Joshua , for posting it.

    That guy in the gold-colored cloak and a "crown?" on the left is quite striking. Are there any philosophers that fit that kind of description?

  • Joshua
    05 - Administrator
    Points
    14,866
    Posts
    1,884
    Quizzes
    3
    Quiz rate
    95.8 %
    • December 27, 2022 at 8:41 AM
    • #7

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tainia_(costume)

    The headband/circlet/diadem/crown/whatever it is, is something I do see in ancient art but not with any clear connection. Wikipedia suggests it was festival attire, and also used by royalty and athletes. Not sure what the connection is here.

  • Charles
    03 - Member
    Points
    2,582
    Posts
    348
    Quizzes
    4
    Quiz rate
    88.9 %
    • December 27, 2022 at 9:03 AM
    • #8

    The two figures on the left strike me as Plato & Socrates respectively. Although that's hardly based off of anything. It's too obscure to make any definitive judgement, whether it represents most of the schools much like the School of Athens, or perhaps it's not depicting any one specific philosopher at all.

    “If the joys found in nature are crimes, then man’s pleasure and happiness is to be criminal.”

  • Online
    Cassius
    05 - Administrator
    Points
    101,963
    Posts
    13,960
    Quizzes
    9
    Quiz rate
    100.0 %
    • December 27, 2022 at 10:10 AM
    • #9

    Following Charles, it also strikes me that the appearances of all of them seem obscure. The artist seems capable of better representing some of the most famous, if he had wanted to, but none of them seem to bear a striking resemblance to anyone as one might expect, so hard to know what to say.

  • Don
    ΕΠΙΚΟΥΡΕΙΟΣ (Epicurist)
    Points
    39,539
    Posts
    5,513
    Quizzes
    9
    Quiz rate
    92.8 %
    • December 27, 2022 at 10:15 AM
    • #10
    Quote from Cassius

    so hard to know what to say.

    Philosophers Rorschach Test ^^

Unread Threads

    1. Title
    2. Replies
    3. Last Reply
    1. ⟐ as the symbol of the philosophy of Epicurus 94

      • Like 2
      • michelepinto
      • March 18, 2021 at 11:59 AM
      • General Discussion
      • michelepinto
      • May 23, 2025 at 7:57 AM
    2. Replies
      94
      Views
      9.7k
      94
    3. Kalosyni

      May 23, 2025 at 7:57 AM
    1. Daily life of ancient Epicureans / 21st Century Epicureans 19

      • Like 2
      • Robert
      • May 21, 2025 at 8:23 PM
      • General Discussion
      • Robert
      • May 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
    2. Replies
      19
      Views
      711
      19
    3. Don

      May 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
    1. "All Models Are Wrong, But Some Are Useful" 5

      • Like 3
      • Cassius
      • January 21, 2024 at 11:21 AM
      • General Discussion
      • Cassius
      • May 20, 2025 at 5:35 PM
    2. Replies
      5
      Views
      1.4k
      5
    3. Novem

      May 20, 2025 at 5:35 PM
    1. Analysing movies through an Epicurean lens 16

      • Like 1
      • Rolf
      • May 12, 2025 at 4:54 PM
      • General Discussion
      • Rolf
      • May 19, 2025 at 12:45 AM
    2. Replies
      16
      Views
      975
      16
    3. Matteng

      May 19, 2025 at 12:45 AM
    1. Is All Desire Painful? How Would Epicurus Answer? 24

      • Like 1
      • Cassius
      • May 7, 2025 at 10:02 PM
      • General Discussion
      • Cassius
      • May 10, 2025 at 3:42 PM
    2. Replies
      24
      Views
      1.3k
      24
    3. sanantoniogarden

      May 10, 2025 at 3:42 PM

Latest Posts

  • Sunday Study Group via Zoom - Sundays @ 12:30pm EDT

    Cassius May 23, 2025 at 5:04 PM
  • Minimalism to remove stress caused by too much stuff

    Joshua May 23, 2025 at 3:23 PM
  • ⟐ as the symbol of the philosophy of Epicurus

    Kalosyni May 23, 2025 at 7:57 AM
  • Daily life of ancient Epicureans / 21st Century Epicureans

    Don May 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
  • Episode 282 - Not Yet Recorded

    Cassius May 22, 2025 at 11:05 PM
  • New Users Please Read Here First

    bradley.whitley May 22, 2025 at 3:09 PM
  • Epicurean Rings / Jewelry / Coins / Mementos

    bradley.whitley May 22, 2025 at 2:54 PM
  • New "TWENTIERS" Website

    Eikadistes May 22, 2025 at 12:08 PM
  • Episode 281 - Is Pain The Greatest Evil - Or Even An Evil At All?

    Cassius May 21, 2025 at 6:30 AM
  • Happy Twentieth of May 2025!

    Don May 20, 2025 at 9:07 PM

EpicureanFriends - Classical Epicurean Philosophy

  1. Home
    1. About Us
    2. Classical Epicurean Philosophy
  2. Wiki
    1. Getting Started
  3. Frequently Asked Questions
    1. Site Map
  4. Forum
    1. Latest Threads
    2. Featured Threads
    3. Unread Posts
  5. Texts
    1. Core Texts
    2. Biography of Epicurus
    3. Lucretius
  6. Articles
    1. Latest Articles
  7. Gallery
    1. Featured Images
  8. Calendar
    1. This Month At EpicureanFriends
Powered by WoltLab Suite™ 6.0.22
Style: Inspire by cls-design
Stylename
Inspire
Manufacturer
cls-design
Licence
Commercial styles
Help
Supportforum
Visit cls-design