Hegesias took hedonism to its extreme: if pleasure is unattainable, then life can only be inevitable suffering. Hegesias's teachings caused such a stir that King Ptolemy II Philadelphus ordered the banning of his writings and the closure of his school, fearing the "suicidal plague" sown by his ideas. This book, with Manuel Pérez Cornejo's rigorous introduction and John Henry's erudite reconstruction of the Apokarteron, rescues this silenced figure, who dared to question the very value of life.