For this week’s Latin language work, I read about different Graeco-Roman philosophers and their ideas. I focused on 2 main philosophies in particular; Epicureanism and Stoicism.
Epicureanism was founded by the philosopher Epicurus in 307 BC. He was an atomic materialist, so he he was an atheist who believed in the atomic model of the philosopher Democritus and denied the idea of the traditional 4 basic Greek elements. Epicureanism is a form of hedonism, because it says the ultimate goal in life is pleasure, yet it is not hedonistic in the way we usually think. To reach ultimate pleasure, it calls for an absence of pain and a simple life.
Stoicism on the other hand, has been the foremost opponent of Epicureanism throughtout history. Founded by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC, it called for no emotion, and to reach perfection, one had to be a sage and display no emotions, as they would only adversely affect judgement. It was very popular in the Roman and Greek world, its most famous patron and practicer being the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
I think my biggest weakness this week was that I didn’t do one assignment on time for Latin class.
