 For further examples of ancient empiricist doctrine we can turn to the medical writers and sceptics of the Hellenistic age (a roughly 300-year period following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE) and the teachings of Epicurus (ca. 341–270 BCE) and his followers. The medical writers and sceptics offer a sophisticated form of explanatory empiricism, while the Epicureans offer a strong view of the reliability of sense perception coupled with a cautious acceptance of inferences to what is “not evident,” such as the existence and activity of atoms.