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Chapter 3 - Lucretius the fundamentalist

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2009

David N. Sedley
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

PHILOSOPHY IN ITALY

Virtually no facts about Lucretius' life have been determined by modern scholarship, beyond a consensus that it was spent mainly if not entirely in Italy, and that it terminated in the 50s bc. But for a Roman with philosophical leanings those two facts in themselves ought to speak volumes. He could hardly have chosen a better time to be alive. The last fifty years of the Roman Republic were a period of unsurpassed philosophical upheaval in the Graeco-Roman world. And for the first time ever the philosophical centre of gravity was shifting away from Athens, with Italy capturing more than its share of the action. The events of the Mithridatic War (91–86 bc) – in particular, by a curious historical irony, the regime of the Epicurean tyrant Aristion (88–86) – had driven many philosophers out of the city. The Athenian schools were no longer guaranteed the status of international headquarters for their respective movements. And in the resultant diaspora, many philosophers found their way to Italy. Here a ready-made audience awaited them, including plenty of Romans who had already trained at Athens in one or more of the philosophical schools.

The leading gures of the Academy, Philo of Larissa and Antiochus of Ascalon, conducted their well advertised rift over the true nature of their Platonic legacy not in Athens but from bases in Rome and Alexandria respectively. And both became important figures at Rome, where their influence on leading public figures was considerable.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1998

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  • Lucretius the fundamentalist
  • David N. Sedley, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Lucretius and the Transformation of Greek Wisdom
  • Online publication: 22 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511482380.005
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  • Lucretius the fundamentalist
  • David N. Sedley, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Lucretius and the Transformation of Greek Wisdom
  • Online publication: 22 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511482380.005
Available formats
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  • Lucretius the fundamentalist
  • David N. Sedley, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Lucretius and the Transformation of Greek Wisdom
  • Online publication: 22 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511482380.005
Available formats
×