We discussed Hellenistic philosophers: Cynics, Cyrenaics and Epicureans, based on episodes 53 to 59 of the podcast series “The History of Philosophy without any Gaps” by Peter Adamson, starting at no. 53: www.historyofphilosophy.net/cynics  All three schools were seeking personal happiness.  The Cynics renounced everything and begged for food and shelter and lived like dogs.  At the opposite extreme, the Cyrenaics were simple hedonists, seeking pleasure right now.  The Epicureans were still hedonists, but took a more long term and constrained view.  Fine food and drink are pleasurable if you can get them, but an excess will lead to regret, and if you can get simple food, enjoy what you have.  This outlook was based on their view of matter and the world: they were atomists and materialists, and it followed that our souls die with our bodies and there is no afterlife and no gods to fear.  Their philosophy was set out by Lucretius in Herculaneum in his poem “On the Nature of Things” www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/785.  The felt they were self-centred, and we did question why Epicurus valued friendship but cautioned against having children, because they are troublesome, and shunned politics.