The Partisans of Death: Epicureanism and the “Impious” of Wisdom 1:16–2:24 Reconsidered

This article considers the relationship between the “impious” (ἀσεβείς) of Wisdom of Solomon 1:16–2:24 and Epicurean philosophy. Though most recent commentators reject the idea that the impious are portrayed as Epicureans, they fail to consider this passage within the context of Hellenistic Epicureanism (Lucretius, Philodemus) and its discontents (e.g., Epictetus, Plutarch). The author shows that the impious’ materialistic account of the human soul and its destruction at death draws heavily on Epicurean ideas and imagery and that aspects of their exhortation to hedonism recall Epicurean sexual ethics. Furthermore, though the way of life that the impious endorse does diverge significantly from Epicurean hedonism properly understood, such caricatures of Epicurean philosophy are themselves common tropes of anti-Epicurean polemic. It is concluded that the sage has chosen to present a hostile group of advocates of Epicurean philosophy as the paradigmatic adversaries of true wisdom and justice.