person
Epicurus
also: Graius homo, the man of Greece
Athenian philosopher (341-270 BC) whose physics and ethics the poem expounds. Unnamed in Book 1 but unmistakable as the "man of Greece" who first defied superstition and ranged in thought beyond the flaming ramparts of the world; Lucretius venerates him as humanity's liberator.
Reading notes
- On the Nature of Things §5.1 a god, a god
Epicurus (341–270 BC), the Athenian philosopher whose physics and ethics the poem expounds; Lucretius hails him as a 'god' for freeing the mind from fear, though he is never named in the poem.
- On the Nature of Things §6.1 a man found to have such a heart in him
Epicurus (341-270 BC), the Athenian philosopher whose physics and ethics the whole poem expounds; here praised, unnamed, as the discoverer who freed life from fear.