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A moral and natural philosopher, b. *Samos, 341 bce; d. Athens, 270 bce. His father Neocles and mother Chaerestrate, Athenians of the deme Gargettus, emigrated to the Athenian *cleruchy in Samos. As a boy he was taught by a Platonist, Pamphilus. He served as an *ephebe in Athens, when *Xenocrates (1) was head of the *Academy and *Aristotle was in *Chalcis; the playwright *Menander (1) was in the same class of the ephebate as Epicurus. He rejoined his family, who had then settled on the Asian mainland at Colophon. At this time or earlier he studied under *Nausiphanes, from whom he learnt about the *atomist philosophy of *Democritus. At 32 he moved to *Mytilene in Lesbos, then to *Lampsacus on the Hellespont; at both places he set up a school and began to acquire pupils and loyal friends.