The Garden Philosopher

In 306 BCE, Epicurus bought a house with a garden on the outskirts of Athens and invited friends to live and study there. The Garden became one of the most radical philosophical communities in history — it welcomed women, slaves, and foreigners at a time when other schools excluded them.

Epicurus taught that the purpose of philosophy is to eliminate anxiety and achieve tranquility — not to win arguments or build grand theories. Philosophy that does not heal suffering, he said, is as useless as medicine that does not cure disease.