Die kommunikativen Merkmale von Epikurs Kompendien und ihr Verhältnis zum Traktat Περὶ φύσεως

In this paper, I offer an interpretation of reception mechanisms and literary pat- terns of Epicurus’ compendia of his own doctrines as a particular genre of knowledge transmission, best defined through its manifold communicative func- tions. The analysis does not move from a descriptive point of view, but rather from a normative one, i.e. it aims to throw light on those passages in which Epi- curus more or less explicitly outlines ways of reception and rhetorical character- istics of those compendia. Comparisons with similar texts by later authors, mostly (and significantly, as I try to show) medical writings such as those of Galen and Oribasius, provide further context for Epicurus’ statements. The results of the survey are then exploited to suggest a plausible answer about the relationship be- tween Epicurus’ abridgements and his main treatise Περὶ φύσεως.