Epicureanism emerged in the Hellenistic period (323-31BC) – an era which, not unlike our Information Age, was characterised by a radical shift in the technology of media. Book culture was becoming more widespread, texts were being collated, canonised and produced at an increasing rate, and Greek language and culture was spreading throughout the Mediterranean region. It was an era of social and political upheavals, and new ideas arising to confront new realities.