The Early Epicureans v1.0 [video]

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    My new video on the Early Epicureans is now on YouTube. Thank you Cassius for doing the legwork on that end!


    I tried to keep this one short, and went with captions instead of a voice-over. You can visit the thread on the process here, and @Nate's map of the Epicurean Communities of the Ancient World here.


    Thank you all for your early feedback and any criticism is more than welcome! I do want to get better (and faster) at the animating and editing process.


    I hope this gives a clearer picture of Epicurus' life, and of the development of the Garden conceptually in the east before it was realized in the west.

    It's certainly not Epicurus on the cover. Looks more like Hermarchus than Metrodorus; the source photo is probably online somewhere, but I haven't found it.

    For some reason I think I can picture Hermarchus in my mind based on the statue and picture how he looked, but there is something about the Metrodorus statue that makes it harder for me to get a grip on his features.

    I would have labeled them like that. Busts of Hermarchus I've seen show him as a guy with an average head size. Busts of Metrodorus depict him as a man with a larger head and broad face.

    My money in on Hermarchus as well. I found very detailed 3D model of Epicurus and Metrodorus double bust here:


    Epicurus and Metrodorus - 3D model by Flyover Zone (@FlyoverZone)
    Name: Epicurus and Metrodorus Material: Cast Format: Double Herm Museum: Abguss-Sammlung Antiker Plastik Museum of original: Capitoline Museums, Rome,…
    sketchfab.com


    On close inspection, the dude on the cover of the book is clearly not as handsome as Metrodorus. ;)

    Jokes aside, check out that 3D model. It's quite impressive.

    Epicurus.info : Photos - Capitoline Museum (Rome)

    (Μ)ΗΤΡΟΔωΡΟC

    (M)etrodōros

    Looks like the stone has been repaired, splitting off the initial M.

    Epicurus's beard is typically more forked while it looks like Metrodorus's was more round.

    I think I've seen the Hermarchos bust referred to as Epicurus in the past, but the base clearly has Hermarchus's name and also a more rounded beard.

    Hermarchus's eyes also seem more "sad" (droopy) while Epicurus seems to have a more intense gaze with his brow furrowed in the center.

    Quote from Don

    Hermarchus's eyes also seem more "sad" (droopy) while Epicurus seems to have a more intense gaze with his brow furrowed in the center.

    Yes I can see the somewhat droopy eyes as a signature of Hermarchus, but for some reason I can't gt't a similar fix on something unique about Metrodorus.


    Maybe my problem is that the sketch I posted earlier in the thread seems to not be as a close a match to the actual sculpture as is the sketch for Hermarchus and Epicurus (?)

    I guess I was aware of it but I have not focused much on the apparent fact that we have bust of Colotes.


    Maybe this book page that Onenski has posted above can be worked over with image enhancement and/or adjusting software to make better copies of all of them for future use. I gather there might be one or two other busts available too? Polyaneus maybe?


    We probably have not spent nearly as much time as we should fleshing out what we know about the details of each of these. We at least know their book titles to indicate their areas of interest, plus there are other anecdotes, and we know something of Colotes from Plutarch's response to him.


    Now that I see more clearly that many of these guys got together and essentially invaded Athens as a team, the "team" seems to me to be more worthy of highlighting.


    Which is important to observe - that the Epicurean school was not at all a one-man project, but required teamwork, just as teamwork is required today.