ABSTRACT
The Hellenistic age, lasting from the late fourth to the late first century BCE, covers the time between the death of Alexander the Great and the establishment of the Roman Empire. It was a period in which Greek culture spread throughout the Mediterranean and to parts of Asia: ’Hellenistic’ does not simply mean Greek, but refers to the way in which the wider world was being Hellenised. Epicurus worked in many areas of philosophy, including physics, epistemology and ethics, but saw all aspects of his work as connected. Philodemus seems in agreement with Epicurus that poetry is not valuable as a source of teaching. The Stoic school was the main rival of the Epicurean in the Hellenistic age. The Stoics were very ready to accept and acknowledge outside influences. Titus Lucretius Carus, a Roman poet, writing in Latin, who flourished in the first half of the first century BCE, was one of the most notable writers of his age.
