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Concept
Epictetus
Summary
Epictetus (ˌɛpɪkˈtiːtəs, ; Ἐπίκτητος, Epíktētos; 50 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, in western Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece for the rest of his life. His teachings were written down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses and Enchiridion.
Epictetus taught that philosophy is a way of life and not simply a theoretical discipline. To Epictetus, all external events are beyond our control; we should accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately. However, individuals are responsible for their own actions, which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline.
Epictetus was born around AD 50, presumably at Hierapolis, Phrygia. The name his parents gave him is unknown; the word epíktētos (ἐπίκτητος) in Greek simply means "gained" or "acquired"; the Greek philosopher Plato, in his Laws, used the term to mean property that is "added to one's hereditary property". He spent his youth in Rome as a slave to Epaphroditus, a wealthy freedman and secretary to Nero.
Early in life, Epictetus acquired a passion for philosophy and, with the permission of his wealthy master, he studied Stoic philosophy under Musonius Rufus. Becoming more educated in this way raised his social status. At some point, he became disabled. Celsus, quoted by Origen, wrote that this was because his leg had been deliberately broken by his master.Origen, Contra Celcus. vii.] Simplicius, in contrast, wrote that he had simply been disabled from childhood.
Epictetus obtained his freedom sometime after the death of Nero in AD 68, and he began to teach philosophy in Rome. Around AD 93, when the Roman emperor Domitian banished all philosophers from the city, Epictetus moved to Nicopolis in Epirus, Greece, where he founded a school of philosophy.
His most famous pupil, Arrian, studied under him as a young man (around AD 108) and claimed to have written his famous Discourses based on the notes he took on Epictetus's lectures.
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