During the time of Epicurus, who could read well enough to study philosophy?

The question of literacy at the time of Epicurus came to me because I've been thinking about who exactly were the people that were engaging with the teachings of Epicurus. Looking it this also answers the question of who was Epicurus writing for.

Scholars estimate that overall literacy in ancient Athens from 341 to 270 BC was between 10% and 15% of the general population. However, the percentage of people who could read complex philosophical texts was much lower -- likely around 3% to 5%. This specialized reading class primarily consisted of elite, wealthy, and educated adult male citizens.

While Athenian democracy required basic reading skills to participate in civic duties, reading dense philosophy like the works of Epicurus or the earlier Platonist and Aristotelian texts demanded extensive formal education, which was heavily restricted by gender and socioeconomic class.

Any women who were present were likely either part of Epicurus' household (unfree slaves)...or educated hetaira...or perhaps wives who were taught by their wealthy philosophical husbands who were part of the school. The only male slave that was specifically mentioned by name in Diogenes Laertius was Mys, who was within Epicurus' household.

The census of Demetrius Phalereus in 317 BC found 21,000 citizens, 10,000 metics and 400,000 slaves living in Athens.

The metics were foreign born or freed slaves, who were not land owners, and yet some may have been wealthy and had free time.

So then that leaves mainly the elite, wealthy, and educated adult male citizens and the sons of those men.

And, this also frames the bigger picture regarding Epicurean philosophy as an important consideration in the interpretation of the texts. I can hardly think that Epicurus was telling these elite wealthy men to dispose of their wealth and possessions and become minimalists who only engage with the bare basic necessities in life.

Epicurus was speaking to the same people as Lucretius was... in De Rerum Natura, book 6...which talks about the leaky jar / tainted jar:

[Bailey-6:09] For when he saw that mortals had by now attained well-nigh all things which their needs crave for subsistence, and that, as far as they could, their life was established in safety, that men abounded in power through wealth and honours and renown, and were haughty in the good name of their children, and yet not one of them for all that had at home a heart less anguished, but with torture of mind lived a fretful life without any respite, and was constrained to rage with savage complaining, he then did understand that it was the vessel itself which wrought the disease, and that by its disease all things were corrupted within, whatsoever came into it gathered from without, yea even blessings; in part because he saw that it was leaking and full of holes, so that by no means could it ever be filled; in part because he perceived that it was tainted as with a foul savor all things within it, which it had taken in.

There is significant, explicit textual evidence detailing Epicurus’s deliberate reliance on written texts as a central tool for learning, specifically designed to substitute for or supplement oral teaching. Unlike Socrates, who famously rejected writing in favor of oral dialogue, Epicurus was a highly prolific writer who engineered a text-based educational system.

The core textual evidence for this includes Epicurus's own statements on epitomization. In the surviving introductions to his letters preserved by Diogenes Laertius Epicurus explicitly states that his written texts are meant to act as a substitute for direct instruction.

Epicurus explicitly writes that he has prepared the text in the Letter to Herodotus as an epitome (an abridgment) for those who "are unable to study carefully all my physical writings" or "cannot digest the more detailed books." He states the text is designed so that even advanced students can have a ready handbook to memorize and recall core principles without needing a teacher present.

The prologue of the Letter to Pythocles notes that the text was written specifically to provide a handy, easily memorable distillation of natural philosophy to help the reader navigate life when oral guidance isn't available.

Philodemus’s treatise On Frank Criticism (Peri Parresias) describes the pedagogical structure of Epicurean communities. The texts reveal that when Epicurean groups spread across the Mediterranean, away from Epicurus’s physical presence in Athens, they relied entirely on reading, copying, and dissecting Epicurus’s written texts as the structural foundation of their regular community meetings. Philodemus provides physical and textual proof of how the school operated.

Thanks Don and thinking further...it appears that you may be hinting that we can't be totally certain about who exactly was attending Epicurus' Kepos, and what types of people attended the Epicurean communities. And yet, I don't think that it would be correct to compare Epicurean communities with early Christian communities. The teachings are very different and they will attract different people.

We see in Lucretius that there is an emphasis on the natural physics with the majority of DRN focusing on the causes of things, so as to dispell the incorrect beliefs about gods causing natural phenomenon. We need to ask ourselves what types of people are interested in this focus, and to see that this aspect of Epicurean philosophy was shining the light on Nature as moving with its own driving force, and this was an "early science" to examine the world and learn about the things that causes various phenomenon. The study of natural physics requires a certain intelligence level, and so then these would be the people more likely to have aquired the skill of reading. So I still stand by my hypothesis that most people who studied Epicurean philosophy in ancient Greece could read.

We might wonder which classes in ancient Athens in 300 BC had both the interest and time for studying or hearing about Epicurean philosophy...

The Garden was founded by Epicurus in Athens around 306 BC and was revolutionary because it rejected the traditional Athenian class system of the highly educated elite. The Academy (Plato) or the Lyceum (Aristotle), required a rigorous, elite background in mathematics and political theory, but the Garden of Epicurus did not.

Because of this, the classes that had the interest and time to engage with it spanned a unique cross-section of Athenian society, as follows:

Wealthy Intellectuals and Aristocrats (The Elite) -- Many wealthy individuals were deeply disillusioned by the political chaos of 300 BC. Athens was trapped in a cycle of Macedonian military occupations and puppet governments. Epicurus offered a radical alternative: lathe biosas ("live unnoticed"). He advocated for completely withdrawing from public life, politics, and civic duties to protect one's peace of mind. This class possessed unlimited leisure time (schole) funded by their estates and slave labor. They could afford to spend entire days lounging and debating in the Garden.

High-Class Courtesans (Hetairai) -- The Garden was highly scandalous in 300 BC because Epicurus openly welcomed women. Hetairai were highly educated, intellectually curious, and lacked the political ties that bound male citizens. Epicurean philosophy’s emphasis on friendship over civic duty deeply resonated with women who were legally marginalized by the state. Famous hetairai, such as Leontion, became prominent Epicurean scholars and even wrote philosophical treatises refuting male philosophers. As independent entrepreneurs, hetairai managed their own schedules. Attending philosophical gatherings was natively aligned with their professional lives, which centered on intellectual and social engagement with elite thinkers.

Enslaved People (Douloi) -- Only 15-20% of all enslaved people where priviliged or highly skilled. Epicurus famously admitted slaves into his school as intellectual equals, a practice that shocked traditional Athenians. Most slaves had no free time. However, privileged domestic slaves or highly skilled slave-craftsmen (choris oikountes) who lived independently and paid a portion of their wages to their masters often had pockets of personal time in the evenings. Epicurus's own slave, Mys, became a fully initiated and respected philosopher within the community.

Wealthy Resident Aliens (Metics) -- Because metics could not vote or hold political office in Athens, traditional philosophies that focused on "how to rule a city" (like Plato's Republic) were irrelevant to them. Wealthy foreign merchants, bankers, and doctors had generated significant wealth from Athens' booming trade sector, granting them the financial freedom and leisure time to pursue philosophy.

---->The class that was left out was the working-class citizens (Zeugitae and Thetes)—the average Athenian craftsmen, small farmers, and laborers—generally lacked both the time and interest for Epicureanism. They were consumed by the daily grind of survival under Macedonian occupation. Furthermore, traditional working-class citizens often viewed the Garden's radical inclusion of slaves and women, combined with its rejection of public civic duty, as deeply unpatriotic and lazy.

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As an aside: Modern economic historians estimate that between 15% and 25% of the total slave population in ancient Athens in 300 BC, could be categorized as highly skilled or privileged. Because the Greeks viewed slaves as property rather than tracking them by occupation, scholars reconstruct these proportions based on literary references, court cases, and trade logs.

Out of an estimated total of roughly 80,000 to 100,000 slaves in Attica around this period, the division of labor generally fell into three distinct bands:

The Privileged/Highly Skilled (15% – 25%): This group consisted of choris oikountes ("those living apart"), who were trusted to run workshops, bank counters, and businesses independently. It also included demosioi (state-owned public slaves) who served as the Scythian archer police force, mint workers, and administrative clerks. These were the rare individuals with the pocket money or freedom of movement to theoretically engage with Epicurean philosophy.

The Domestic/Household Slaves (35% – 45%): These individuals lived within the oikos (household). While their daily physical comfort was drastically higher than that of a laborer, they were entirely dependent on the personal temperament of their master and had very little personal autonomy, leisure time, or independent income.

Unskilled Agricultural and Mine Laborers (35% – 45%): This was the largest and most brutal tier. Thousands of completely uneducated chattel slaves worked the fields or were leased out to work the state silver mines of Laurium. They suffered extreme physical attrition and had virtually zero opportunities for education or leisure.

A highly skilled slave (like a literate accountant, doctor, or master stonemason) was an expensive luxury asset. While a common laborer cost about 1 to 2 minae, a highly skilled artisan or tutor could command 5 to 10 minae (nearly a year or two of an average free citizen's wages), limiting how many existed in the market. Masters purposely granted these skilled slaves privileges—like letting them live in their own homes or keep a small percentage of profits (peculium)—not out of kindness, but as an incentive structure to prevent sabotage and maximize business revenue.

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We might also wonder what percentage of metics were wealthy...

Based on demographic and economic reconstructions, only about 5% to 10% of metics in Ancient Athens were truly wealthy, while roughly 40% to 45% belonged to a solid middle class. The remaining 50% or more were poor, working-class laborers and small tradespeople. While history often highlights famous, ultra-wealthy metics like the arms-manufacturer Cephalus or the philosopher Aristotle, they represented a small minority of the overall foreign population.

Based on historical data from the 4th century BC, the metic wealth spectrum breaks down as follows:

The ultra-wealthy elite (5% - 10%) -- This group consisted of major international merchants, large-scale slave owners, shipowners, and powerful bank operators. While they were legally barred from owning real estate, they held massive fortunes in "invisible wealth" (cash, loans, ships, and slaves). Like wealthy citizens, this top tier of metics was rich enough to be swept into the eisphora (extraordinary war taxes).

The "Hoplite" middle class (approx. 40% - 45%) -- Historical military logs show that about 43% of metics possessed enough wealth to qualify for the "hoplite census". This meant they earned enough money to buy their own heavy armor and shields to fight in the army alongside middle-class citizens. This group included independent shop owners, successful artists, master craftsmen, and medium-scale traders.

The working-class and impoverished (approx. 50%+) --More than half of all metics were economically indistinguishable from the poorest Athenian citizens (thetes). They lived hand-to-mouth as retail shop assistants, common construction laborers, street vendors, and independent shoe-makers or potters. This tier also included freed former slaves who legally became metics upon gaining freedom, usually starting their independent lives with zero generational wealth.

Looking into historical aspects of writing at 300 BC...blank papyrus was a significant expense, generally costing a few days' wages for an unskilled laborer. However, the act of copying or writing made books exceptionally pricey, as all texts had to be meticulously transcribed by hand.

While the papyrus plant was easily cultivated in Egypt, shipping and trade markups made it an expensive commodity elsewhere in the Mediterranean, such as in Greece. A standard blank papyrus roll equated to roughly half its weight in modern printer paper made of gold.

The actual writing material only accounted for a small fraction of a book's final price. Professional scribes and copyists commanded high wages, driving up the cost of literary works and records.

Because of the expense, papyrus was frequently washed or scraped clean to be used as scratch paper, or written on both sides (recto and verso) to maximize space.

For temporary notes, calculations, or drafts, people used cheaper alternatives like wax tablets or broken pieces of pottery and limestone known as ostraca. Parchment (animal skins) was also used, but it was historically even more expensive than papyrus.

Since we know that Epicurus liked to send letters, we might wonder also about the materials and methods people used at that time. Sending letters depended heavily on who was writing, the purpose of the message, and how far it had to travel.

For formal, wealthy, or official correspondence, papyrus was the preferred medium. Unlike literary works that were kept as long scrolls, letters were usually written on a single sheet, folded up, tied securely with string, and sealed with wax or clay to ensure privacy. Writers used reed pens dipped in carbon-based ink.

For short, informal, or local notes, people used wax tablets - a diptych (two wooden boards attached by hinges). The inside of the wood was coated in dark beeswax, and the sender used a sharp metal stylus to scratch the message into the wax. The recipient could easily smooth the wax over to reply on the exact same tablet.

For everyday communication among commoners, soldiers, or laborers, broken pieces of ceramic pottery (ostraca) served as free, highly durable "scratch pads." People wrote on them with ink or scratched words directly into the clay.

Lead sheets were occasionally used for highly sensitive, legal, or religious messages. Sheets of lead were hammered thin, etched with a stylus, and tightly rolled up.

Ancient letter writers did not have paper envelopes. Instead, they folded the papyrus or wooden tablet inward so the writing faced the inside. They then wrapped a string around it and placed a dollop of beeswax or clay over the knot. The sender stamped the wax with a unique signet ring, creating a personalized seal. If the seal arrived broken, the recipient knew the letter had been intercepted and read.

There was no public postal system for ordinary citizens in 300 BC. Regular people had to rely entirely on private networks. If you wanted to send a letter, you had to ask a traveling merchant, a trusted friend, a pilgrim, or a slave heading in that direction to deliver it for you.

More background on Epicurus and his school, and the wealth that allowed him to start and run the school:

Epicurus was relatively wealthy by the standards of ancient Athens, allowing him to afford the vast amounts of papyrus required to author his roughly 300 works. While his philosophy advocated simplicity, his personal financial status was comfortable enough to support his prolific writing career and distinct lifestyle.

His wealth and writing productivity were tied to several factors: inherited affluence and property ownership, and also a supported community network.

Epicurus was born to Athenian parents on the island of Samos. His family possessed enough capital to secure him a top-tier education and allow him to travel widely. When he settled in Athens around 306 BC, he had the financial means to purchase a large house with a walled garden just outside the city walls. Known simply as "The Garden," this property served as both his home and his philosophical school. Buying real estate in ancient Athens required significant wealth.

Epicurus did not live or finance his work in isolation. The Garden operated as a communal living experiment funded by a network of wealthy patrons, devoted students, and co-founders who pooled their resources. These followers regularly donated money and supplies to sustain the community. This consistent financial support allowed Epicurus to dedicate his life entirely to philosophy and writing without needing to work a traditional job for income.

When ancient biographers like Diogenes Laërtius noted that Epicurus wrote 300 "books," it is important to understand the terminology. An ancient "book" (biblion) referred to a single papyrus roll, not a massive modern hardcover. A single roll typically held the equivalent of just one long chapter or a short modern essay (roughly 10,000 to 20,000 words max). His masterwork, On Nature, spanned 37 of these rolls.

While purchasing 300 rolls of papyrus was a steep expense that an ordinary Athenian laborer could never afford, it was a perfectly manageable investment for an independently wealthy property owner supported by a community of dedicated disciples.

Further thoughts:

We might wonder how the writings of one of the most influential philosophers in ancient Greece almost completely disappear? Epicurus wrote hundreds of books and letters that were once widely read throughout Greece and Rome. Yet today, only a small portion of his own words survives. This raises an obvious question: what happened?

And, we might wonder if the high cost of papyrus was the reason. Since papyrus scrolls were expensive to produce, it is easy to imagine that only a few copies of Epicurus' books ever existed. However, historians have found that this was not the case. During the height of Epicurean philosophy, his writings were copied many times and circulated throughout the Mediterranean world.

One of the strongest pieces of evidence comes from the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, a luxurious Roman villa that was buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. Archaeologists discovered an extensive library there that specialized in Epicurean philosophy. Even more remarkable, the library contained multiple copies of some of Epicurus' books. Different handwriting shows that these copies were produced by different scribes, demonstrating that copying his works was a regular and organized practice.

This makes sense because Epicureanism was one of the major philosophical schools of the ancient world. Unlike some other schools that encouraged constant debate and reinterpretation, Epicurus emphasized preserving his teachings accurately. His followers memorized his core doctrines and established communities, known as "Gardens," across Greece, Asia Minor, and Italy. These communities depended on reliable copies of his writings, helping spread his ideas far beyond Athens.

By the first century BC, Epicurean philosophy had become especially popular among many educated Romans. Wealthy patrons, politicians, and intellectuals collected Epicurean books, while commercial publishers copied scrolls for sale throughout the Roman world. The Roman statesman Cicero, although he disagreed with Epicurus' philosophy, complained about how common Epicurean books had become. This tells us that his writings were once widely available rather than rare.

But we might wonder, if so many copies existed, why did they almost all disappear?

The answer lies in events that unfolded centuries after Epicurus died. As the Roman world changed, writing materials changed as well. Beginning in the third and fourth centuries AD, books gradually shifted from papyrus scrolls to parchment codices—the early form of the modern book. Copying older scrolls into this new format required enormous amounts of time, money, and labor. Since it was impossible to preserve every ancient work, scribes had to choose which books were worth recopying.

By this time, Epicureanism had greatly declined in popularity. At the same time, Christianity had become the dominant religious and intellectual force throughout much of the Roman Empire. Epicurus' teachings—that the universe was made of atoms, that the soul did not survive death, and that the gods did not intervene in human affairs—stood in sharp contrast to Christian beliefs. Many Christian scholars and monastic scribes instead devoted their efforts to copying biblical texts, theological works, and selected classical authors they considered valuable or compatible with Christian education. As a result, Epicurus' writings were copied far less frequently and eventually disappeared from most libraries.

Natural decay also played an important role. Papyrus is made from plant fibers and deteriorates over time, especially in the damp climates of Europe. Unless old scrolls were continually recopied onto new materials, they simply wore out and disintegrated. Only in exceptionally dry places, such as the deserts of Egypt, or through unusual circumstances like the volcanic burial of Herculaneum, could papyrus survive for centuries.

Although most of Epicurus' own books have been lost, his ideas were not entirely forgotten. The third-century AD writer Diogenes Laërtius preserved three of Epicurus' letters along with a summary of his philosophy in his collection of biographies of Greek philosophers. Another important source is the Roman poet Lucretius, whose On the Nature of Things presents a detailed explanation of Epicurean philosophy. When this manuscript was rediscovered in a monastery in 1417, it helped renew interest in ancient philosophy during the Renaissance.

Unfortunately, what survives today offers only a small glimpse of what was once one of the largest and most influential collections of philosophical writing in the ancient world.