Stoics and Epicurean?

Question

What do both say about whether an individual can be happy living under the rule of a tyrant and in constant fear?

I don't get why fear is an important theme for both schools.

Answer 1

For the Epi's, one of the steps towards fully enjoying one's life is to overcome the fear of the wrath of the gods. One way to achieve this is to hold that natural occuring events are NOT the result of the gods' anger, but rather simply natural occuring events of our physical environment. For Epicurus, one must limit desires and conquer the fear of the gods in order to attain pleasure.

The stoics held that fear, and other similar emotions like envy, arose from false judgements, and that a person who had attained moral and intellectual perfection would not undergo them.

For both, fear must be overcome in order to achieve the ultimate in philosophical existence, whether it is fear of the gods or of a tyrant.