Epicureans

The Epicureans were followers of the Greek philosopher Epicurus (341–270 BC), who taught that the chief good was pleasure—specifically the calm, moderate pleasure of ataraxia (tranquility) achieved through friendship, philosophical study, and the avoidance of pain and anxiety. Epicurean philosophy denied divine providence and personal immortality, taught that the gods took no interest in human affairs, and held that death was simply the dissolution of the atoms composing the person, after which nothing remained.

Paul encountered both Epicureans and Stoics in Athens when they brought him to the Areopagus to hear his new teaching (Acts 17:18). The Epicureans likely found his preaching about resurrection particularly objectionable, since it contradicted their core conviction that death ended consciousness. Some scholars see the Areopagus speech as carefully engaging both schools: addressing Stoic cosmic theology and the Epicurean concern with the nature of the divine. The Epicureans' dismissal of Paul as a babbler (literally a seed-picker, one who picks up fragments of ideas) reflects philosophical condescension rather than genuine engagement with his message.