THESIS STATEMENT In Hellenistic Greece, Epicureanism and Stoicism were two influential philosophies that encouraged a happy life; these philosophies were similar in their belief in the afterlife, but differed in their belief in the gods and in their approach to achieving happiness in life.PURPOSE STATEMENTThrough research and analysis, it was demonstrated that Epicureanism and Stoicism both represented the general idea of ​​a contented life. , but they had more differences than similarities in their various beliefs. INTRODUCTION The Hellenistic period brought a new, refreshing beginning to Greece. Ancient Greece and its inward-looking culture transformed into Hellenistic Greece, which infused its culture into countries and empires outside Greece's borders. With this widespread influence, new forms of art, inventions, and religion emerged amid the cultural growth. An innovative aspect in Hellenistic Greece was philosophy and its new schools. At that time, two of the most popular philosophies, Epicureanism and Stoicism, rivaled each other. Epicureanism, founded by Epicurus, and Stoicism, founded by Zeno of Citium, gave the Greeks an attempt to give meaning to their lives. Although the two philosophies competed with each other, they had similarities along with their differences. As Hicks succinctly describes, “Both schools pursued the same goal by tortuous paths” (v). Epicureanism and Stoicism conceived of the universe in different ways, which ultimately led to more differences than similarities between the two philosophies. However, the two schools coincided in their vision of the purpose of life: to achieve lifelong happiness. Epicureanism and Stoicism had similarities and differences in how they perceived the world, culminating in... middle of paper... Epicureans and Stoics] offered a conception of the world and human nature that drew its support from observations empirical, from reason and from the recognition that all men have common needs” (6). Although both views opposed each other in various ways, both provided man with a way to live and care for himself. WORKS CITED Rennan, Tad. The stoic life: emotions, duties and destiny. Oxford: Clarendon, 2005. Print.Hicks, Robert Drew. Stoic and epicurean. New York: Russell & Russell, 1962. Print.Long, AA Hellenistic Philosophy; Stoics, Epicureans, Skeptics. New York: Scribner, 1974. Print.O'Keefe, Tim. Epicureanism. Berkeley: University of California, 2010. Print.Panichas, George A. Epicurus. New York: Twayne, 1967. Print.Sandbach, F.H. The Stoics. New York: Norton, 1975. Print.Warburton, Nigel. A little history of philosophy. New Haven: Yale UP, 2011. Print.