A Quick History of the Main Man
Aristotle was born in 384 BCE in Stagira, a small country near Macedonia towards the north of the Aegean Sea. Proxenus, Aristotle's guardian after the death of his father, sent the 17-year-old boy to study at Plato's Academy in Athens. Aristotle proved to be Plato's most promising students and stayed at the Academy until Plato's death in 247 BCE. However, Athens at this time was highly xenophobic, and never fully accepted Aristotle because he was not Athenian born. As a result of this, Aristotle was forced to eventually leave Athens.

Nichmachean Ethics and Rhetoric: the two books from the man that changed jen's life
Very few books attributed to Aristotle still exist today; those that do, we can attribute to the zealous students who took excruciating notes for other people to collect later and create a book based on what Aristotle said. For example, the Nicomachean Ethics was compiled by his son Nicomacheas after Aristotle’s death. In this book, the basis of western ethics was collected and preserved for application throughout 2000 years. A personal favorite of Jen’s, Book VIII, details the three different types of “philia,” or the positive ongoing relatedness with those around us: friendship: “There are therefore three kinds of friendship, equal in number to the things that are lovable; for with respect to each there is a mutual and recognized love, and those who love each other wish well to each other in that respect in which they love one another” (Aristotle). I know; it sounds confusing—all he is doing is breaking down all of the different types of love that exist in friendship. I highly suggest reading this book! I have provided a link below:

Nicomachean Ethics--full text

Epicurus
Epicurus was born in 341 BCE on the island of Samos to an Athenian family. He was privately educated be his father and other philosophers until he went to Athens for a brief stint in military service. He began teaching in 322 and founded his own school eleven years later. In the year 306 BCE, Epicurus returned to Athens where he dedicated the rest of his life teaching his doctrines to his followers.

His philosophical school is called Epicureanism: the search for pleasure and supreme good in this life. Epicurus did not advocate an afterlife, believing that there was nothing after death. While this sounds rather pessimistic, the philosophy did counter this by conquering the fear of death and gods and the afterlife, leaving a sense of serenity in this life. The bulk of his philosophy is based on friendship and the persuit of pleasure, both physical and metaphysical. The tenants of his doctrine asked the parishioners to move to secluded countryside homes and live together, taking pleasure in daily life with loved-ones.

Below, I have provided a link to “The Philosophy Garden.” This is an excellent website that offers a background of Epicurean philosophy as well as a translation of his existing works.

Epicurus and The Philosophy Garden