Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Hellenistic period. He founded the Epicurean school of philosophy. The son of a school teacher, he began his study of philosophy as a teenager, according to his own accounts. He was influenced by the works of philosophers Democritus, Aristippus, and Pyrrho and rejected the Platonism of his day. According to one story, he was very curious as a student and asked his schoolmaster to explain the concept of chaos in ancient philosophical poet Hesiod’s works. His schoolmaster was unable to provide the young man a satisfactory answer, and this propelled Epicurus to come up with his own philosophical theories. He proceeded to establish his own school, The Garden, in Athens, where he advocated for a simple lifestyle dedicated to philosophical pursuits. Adopting a policy that was revolutionary for his time, he welcomed slaves and women to join the school. He was a prolific writer who is believed to have composed over 300 treatises on a myriad range of subjects; however, most of his works have been lost and only a few letters written by him survived intact. Epicureanism was popular from the beginning and peaked during the late years of the Roman Republic.