Our forum copy of the Biography of Epicurus by Diogenes Laertius is here.
The Biography of Epicurus By Diogenes Laertius
Sunday Weekly Zoom. 12:30 PM EDT - September 28, 2025 - Check-in and planning session for future Zoom topics - we'll take suggestions for future topics & and if time allows we will discuss recent podcasts. To find out how to attend CLICK HERE. To read more on the discussion topic CLICK HERE.
We are now requiring that new registrants confirm their request for an account by email. Once you complete the "Sign Up" process to set up your user name and password, please send an email to the New Accounts Administator to obtain new account approval.
Regularly Checking In On A Small Screen Device? Bookmark THIS page!
-
Great Work!
-
Cassius
June 28, 2021 at 5:36 PM Moved the thread from forum Diogenes Laertius - The Life of Epicurus to forum The Biography of Epicurus By Diogenes Laertius (and other biographies). -
Cassius
August 19, 2023 at 8:34 PM Moved the thread from forum The Biography of Epicurus By Diogenes Laertius (and other biographies) to forum General Section Including Attributions To Epicurus In Laertius And Other Sources. -
Within the biography of Epicurus by Diogenes Laertius, it lists some of the books that Epicurus wrote, and "Of Love" is the third on the list. Is there anyway to track down if this was about "romance" or was it about all love in general? ( Don perhaps you might be able to help?)
QuoteSuch, then, in number and character are the writings of Epicurus, the best of which are the following :
Of Nature, thirty-seven books.
Of Atoms and Void.
Of Love.
....(etc.)
-
Of Love
Περὶ ἔρωτος (erōtos)
love, mostly of the sexual passion
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, ἔρως
-
I was just on Perseus/Tufts which also lists the word "desire":
Quoteἔρως (“ἔρως, -ωτος, -ωτι; -ωτες, -ώτων”.) a.
[select]
passion, love (v. von der Mühll, M. H., 1964, 169.) “ἀγαπατὰ δὲ — τῶν ἀρειόνων ἐρώτων ἐπικρατεῖν δύνασθαι. οἷοι καὶ Διὸς Αἰγίνας τε λέκτρον ποιμένες ἀμφεπόλησαν Κυπρίας δώρων” N. 8.5 “ἔρως γὰρ ἔχεν” (sc. “αὐτούς”) I. 8.29 ]“τ᾽ ἔρωτος ἀνταμοιβὰν ἐδάσσατο[ Δ. 4. 42. ματέῤ ἐρώτων οὐρανίαν — Ἀφροδίταν” fr. 122. 4. “χρῆν μὲν κατὰ καιρὸν ἐρώτων δρέπεσθαι, θυμέ, σὺν ἁλικίᾳ” fr. 123. 1. “εἴη καὶ ἐρᾶν καὶ ἔρωτι χαρίζεσθαι κατὰ καιρόν” fr. 127. 1. “χάριτάς τ᾽ Αφροδισίων ἐρώτων” fr. 128. 1.
b.
[select]
desire, longing “καὶ γὰρ ἑτέροις ἑτέρων ἔρωτες ἔκνιξαν φρένας” (A. W. Mair: “ἔρως ἔκνιξε” codd.: “ἔρως ὑπέκνιξε” Boeckh) P. 10.60 “οὐδ᾽ ἀλλοτρίων ἔρωτες ἀνδρὶ φέρειν κρέσσονες” N. 3.30 “ἀπροσίκτων δ᾽ ἐρώτων ὀξύτεραι μανίαι” N. 11.48(source)
-
It's also the name of Eros Έρως the Greek god of love and desire (Roman: Cupid)
-
Kalosyni
April 4, 2024 at 8:39 AM Moved the thread from forum General Section / Biography of Epicurus / Misc. Diogenes Laertius to forum The Biography and Will of Epicurus.
Unread Threads
Finding Things At EpicureanFriends.com
What's the best strategy for finding things on EpicureanFriends.com? Here's a suggested search strategy:
- First, familiarize yourself with the list of forums. The best way to find threads related to a particular topic is to look in the relevant forum. Over the years most people have tried to start threads according to forum topic, and we regularly move threads from our "general discussion" area over to forums with more descriptive titles.
- Use the "Search" facility at the top right of every page. Note that the search box asks you what section of the forum you'd like to search. If you don't know, select "Everywhere." Also check the "Search Assistance" page.
- Use the "Tag" facility, starting with the "Key Tags By Topic" in the right hand navigation pane, or using the "Search By Tag" page, or the "Tag Overview" page which contains a list of all tags alphabetically. We curate the available tags to keep them to a manageable number that is descriptive of frequently-searched topics.
