Professor Greenblatt is not unaware of the criticism of epicureanism as self-centered.  Withdrawal from involvement in civic life is pretty self-centered and is the one criticism that Greenblatt acknowledges as legitimate.  The others, generally epicureanism's reputation for hedonism were Christian (not Jewish) libels.  Pagan self-centeredness and the p.o.h. were considered existential threats to a spiritualism based on the sacrifice of God's son for mankind's well-being, according to Greenblatt.  The Church therefore relentlessly attacked epicureanism as hedonistic. Seems like that should have been a one-sided battle of ideas--all those in favor of pleasure say "aye";

all those in favor of pain say "ouch."

But the ouches won. Greenblatt expresses some surprise at this. But, he says, Christianity's attacks were so successful that Epicurus' disciple (better: "follower.") Lucretius and his poem On the Nature of Things were lost and forgotten until Poggio Bracciolini rediscovered the poem in the 15th century.  The rediscovery led to a "swerve" toward modernity during the Renaissance.

It was a swerve not a u-turn.  Not only did the Cross triumph over the Orgasmatron, it also eclipsed the Star of David and the Crescent.  Christianity's influence, diminished, survived the Renaissance and its dominance of the West continued, undiminished. Ouch.

Images: the 25th google image under search keyword "epicureanism" (the first two sentences on the site containing the photo are "Do you want to be happy?  Of course you do!"); The Isenheim Altarpiece, Mattias Grunewald (1512-1516)