“Fare filosofia vivendo insieme”: la scuola di Epicuro e il demo di Melite. Considerazioni preliminari su due spazi (forse) connessi

The Epicurean philosophical school in Athens has not been located yet; and only generic assumptions were made on the subject, due to the scanty documentation we have. Data even appear to be somehow diverging among them. Cicero’s Fin. V 1-3, seems to indicate that it stood near the Academy, sideways the Demosion Sema, while in the Epicurus’ testament philosophers are recommended to live together in the house in the deme of Melite. The deme is generally located west of the Agora, but its northern boundaries are still uncertain. Furthermore, four marble statues representing Epicurus and his fellow Kolotes were discovered north-east of the Dipylon, reused during the construction of a building of the 2nd cent. AD. This contribution aims to provide a preliminary topographic framework of Epicurus’ garden, by arguing that the latter was part of the house of Melite. I am going to discuss the literary testimonies which attest that Epicureans lived together inside the kepos, as well as the hypothesis that the deme of Melite extended further to the north. In this case the testimony of Cicero would maintain its validity, and the above mentioned statues do not result very far from the topographical context I have tried to reconstruct.