
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Epicurus “Coryphaeus of Atheism”? Epicurus “Coryphaeus of Atheism”?
-
(Basic) Textual Evidence on Epicurus’s Theology (Basic) Textual Evidence on Epicurus’s Theology
-
Divine Activity in Epicurus’ Science of Nature? Divine Activity in Epicurus’ Science of Nature?
-
Epicurus against religio Epicurus against religio
-
Knowledge of the Gods Knowledge of the Gods
-
Divine Anthropomorphism Divine Anthropomorphism
-
Epicurus’s Rejection of Astral Theology Epicurus’s Rejection of Astral Theology
-
Epicurus’s Rebuttal of Providence Epicurus’s Rebuttal of Providence
-
Epicurean Priests Epicurean Priests
-
The Ethical Meaning of Epicurean Theology The Ethical Meaning of Epicurean Theology
-
References References
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5 Theology
Get accessEmidio Spinelli is Full Professor of History of Ancient Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy/Sapienza-Università di Roma, Rome, Italy. He has published many articles on different topics (Presocratics, Atomists, Socrates/minor Socratics, Plato, Stoics, Epicureans, philosophical papyri); among his main works are Sesto Empirico: Contro gli etici (1995), Sesto Empirico: Contro gli astrologi (2000), Questioni scettiche: Letture introduttive al pirronismo antico (2005), Electronic Edition of Sextus Empiricus’s Works (2012, in DAPHNET, see the Section ‘Ancient Philosophy’: http://www.daphnet.org).
Francesco Verde is Tenure-track Assistant Professor of the History of Ancient Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy of “Sapienza” – University of Rome, Italy. His interests are ancient atomism, ancient physics, Hellenistic philosophy, and Herculaneum papyrology. He published a translation with commentary of Epicurus’s “Letter to Herodotus” (2010), a volume devoted to the Epicurean doctrine of minimal parts (2013), and an up-to-date presentation of Epicurus’s philosophy (2013).
-
Published:06 August 2020
Cite
Abstract
The negation of providence (pronoia) and, accordingly, of fate (heimarmenē) entailed that Epicurus even came to be regarded as an atheist by the other philosophical schools of antiquity and above all by the Stoics. This is a real (and intentional) misunderstanding since Epicurus’s philosophy has a systematic theology in which the gods have a function that is not at all marginal. From some of Epicurus’s texts, one can notice that the philosopher mentions the three essential and ineliminable characteristics of the divine: that it is a zōion, and hence a living being; its incorruptibility (aphtharsia); and, finally, its blessedness (makariotēs). Incorruptibility must be understood entirely in materialist terms: the gods are atomic aggregates, albeit very “special”: their atomic constitution is eternally harmonious and never admits of any kind of perturbation or disturbance to its atomic structure. For Epicurus, to assign complete inactivity to gods means to grant them an honor and majesty such as to make of divinity a being wholly “incommensurable” with any other real thing: this supremely elevated condition of a god is reducible to those traits of blessedness and incorruptibility which make it a living ideal for human beings, a paradigm of absolute well-being to which we may continually aspire.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
October 2022 | 5 |
November 2022 | 16 |
January 2023 | 10 |
February 2023 | 5 |
March 2023 | 12 |
April 2023 | 10 |
May 2023 | 8 |
June 2023 | 8 |
July 2023 | 6 |
August 2023 | 6 |
September 2023 | 5 |
October 2023 | 10 |
November 2023 | 8 |
December 2023 | 7 |
January 2024 | 14 |
February 2024 | 19 |
March 2024 | 8 |
April 2024 | 18 |
May 2024 | 6 |
June 2024 | 10 |
July 2024 | 6 |
August 2024 | 6 |
September 2024 | 9 |
October 2024 | 7 |
November 2024 | 8 |
December 2024 | 15 |
January 2025 | 14 |
February 2025 | 12 |
March 2025 | 17 |
April 2025 | 21 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.