ABSTRACT
While Christians abhorred the materialism of Epicurus and his denial of providence, their rejection of pagan worship led to their being classed as atheists with the Epicureans. Christian apologists retort by treating Epicurus as a typical pagan, and Origen stigmatises his pagan opponent Celsus as a member of the school. At the same time, he steals an argument against determinism from Epicurus, while Lactantius draws heavily on Lucretius as an example of paganism testifying against itself.
