La teologia epicurea contro la paura della morte: preghiera, ripetizione, rito

The paper proposes a novel connection between Epicurus’ thanatology and theology. More precisely, it tries to demonstrate that, in the view of the philosopher, the study of the nature of the gods allows to remove human irrational fears towards death and, conversely, that the doctrines, which permit one to accept one’s mortality courageously, lead to the same blessedness possessed by gods. In order to do so, the paper first studies two pieces of evidence that might ground this connection, namely letter 26 of Seneca’s Epistles and some columns of Philodemus’ treatise On Piety. After that, it concentrates especially on the role fulfilled by the Epicurean prayer during the process of assimilation to god and the removal of the irrational fear of death. It is supposed that praying brings both benefits, because it gives a pure vision of divine blessedness and suggests that we might achieve it even in our short lives.