Epicurean vs Epicureanism

While doing a bit of history nap time reading we learned a bit about stoicism, and Epicureanism. Lovely how odd bits of information crop up while studying Rome.

Anyway, I always remembered epicurean as 'someone who specializes in good food and the like'. Turns out I am not far off from the official definition. Define epicurean : adj. 1. Devoted to the pursuit of sensual pleasure, especially to the enjoyment of good food and comfort

So that wasn't surprising. What did surprise me is how different Epicureanism is from 'fancy food'. Epicurianism refers to followers of a Greek fellow named Epicurius. A fellow who did teach pleasure is the highest goal. But what he defined as pleasure might surprise one.

In the Epicurean view, the highest pleasure (tranquility and freedom from fear) was obtained by knowledge, friendship and living a virtuous and temperate life. He lauded the enjoyment of simple pleasures, by which he meant abstaining from bodily desires, such as sex and appetites, verging on asceticism....

Not exactly the picture I get from websites and glossy magazines devoted to the 'epicurean'. In fact he taught: ...when eating, one should not eat too richly, for it could lead to dissatisfaction later,...

!!!!!!!!

I wonder how the word changed so much?

Along the way we also read of Nero, Marcus Aurelius, and Commodus. After our reading Dude tells me Commodus was strangled in his bathtub. A tidbit not mentioned in our reading, you never know what he learns from his library reading! (BTW wiki agrees he was strangled in the bath)