Derived their name from a Greek philosopher, Epicurus (342-271 B.C.). He taught that pleasure is the true end at which men should aim, and that the experience of the bodily senses is the safest guide. The Epicureans and Stoics (Acts 17: 18) were the chief schools of philosophy at the beginning of the Christian era. The Epicureans had many points of belief in common with the Sadducees.