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Relatively few works were written by Epicurus (Figure 1) still survive, as most of what we known derive knew derives from later writings from his followers and his philosophical school that he started. We know that Epicureanism began as a philosophy at around 307/306 BCE. Like so many other philosophers, he established himself at Athens, although he was from Samos.<ref>For more on Epicurus and his established school, see: Hibler, Richard W. 1984. Happiness through Tranquillity: The School of Epicurus. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.</ref> He was influenced by the teaching of Democritus and he studied under Nausiphanes of Teos, but had a later falling out as he pursued his own new school of thought.

In fact, Epicurus main problem with Like so many other philosophers was , he felt they were too narrow in their beliefs and their schools did not allow freedom of expression or questioning of the main philosopher teachers. Epicurus' strong egoestablished himself at Athens, in essence, led to rifts with other schools of thought, forcing him to create his own school. This ultimately, however, did give him freedom to develop his ideas, which emerged over a number of years and likely evolved before coming to a mature statealthough he was from Samos.<ref>For more on how Epicurus' philosophy evolvedand his established school, see: DeWittHibler, Norman WentworthRichard W. 19541984. Happiness through Tranquillity: The School of Epicurus and His Philosophy. MinneapolisLanham, MD: University Press of Minnesota Press, pg. 27America.</ref>He was influenced by Democritus's teaching, and he studied under Nausiphanes of Teos but had a later falling out as he pursued his own new school of thought.

In fact, Epicurus's main problem with other philosophers was that they were too narrow in their beliefs. Their schools did not allow freedom of expression or questioning of the main philosopher teachers. Epicurus' strong ego, in essence, led to rifts with other schools of thought, forcing him to create his own school. However, this ultimately gave him the freedom to develop his ideas, which emerged over many years and likely evolved before coming to a mature state.<ref>For more on how Epicurus' philosophy evolved, see: DeWitt, Norman Wentworth. 1954. Epicurus and His Philosophy. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pg. 27.</ref> Epicurus's core philosophy was that one should pursue simple pleasures in life. Friendship was also key to forming happiness.<ref>For more on the foundations of Epicurus' philosophy, see: Bales, Eugene F. 2008. Philosophy in the West: Men, Women, Religion, Science. Philadelphia, Pa.: Xlibris, pg. 68.</ref> While his falling out with other philosophers may seem a slight contradiction in his beliefs of seeking friendship and pleasure, he did try to live up to his ideals. This is demonstrated when he claimed to a friend in a letter, as he was dying, that his state of mind was very happy delighted despite the pain he felt from kidney stones.

So, even if physically , one cannot escape pain, mentally , one can pursue happiness such that it becomes a state not bound by death or sickness. His Therefore, his ideas, therefore, differ greatly from the modern understanding of hedonism, which is often associated with the pursuit of please at all costs. While many focus on his ideas of pleasure, it is also his scientific ideas that, along with those of Aristotle and other Greek philosophers, have greatly influenced our modern world.

During the Epicurus's lifetime of Epicurus, he had relatively few followers and they would meet met at his house's garden. In fact, the garden in his house becomes the name in with which they associated their school. However, evidence of his enduring philosophy in the centuries that followed are is evident, as when the Apostle Paul went to Athens , he encountered followers of Epicureanism, demonstrating the success of the philosophy as it began to develop.<ref>For more on how Epicureanism developed during and after Epicurus, see: O’Keefe, Tim. 2010. Epicureanism. Ancient Philosophies 7. Berkeley: University of California Press.</ref> Nevertheless, because later thought began to confound Epicureanism with hedonism and other philosophies of pleasure-seeking, many of Epicurus' ideas were frowned upon and became less acceptable. It was only in the Renaissance that his ideas once again blossomed.