Epictetus (c. AD 50–135) was a Greek Stoic philosopher who was born a slave and became one of the most influential teachers of the ancient world. He wrote nothing himself, but his pupil Arrian recorded his lessons in the Discourses and summed them up in the Enchiridion, or Manual, a short guide to living freely by distinguishing what is in our power from what is not.
A slave in Rome
Epictetus was born around AD 50 in Hierapolis, in Phrygia, a region of what is now Turkey. His name simply means acquired in Greek. As a young man he was a slave in Rome, in the household of Epaphroditus, a wealthy freedman who served as secretary to the emperor Nero.
He was lame, perhaps from birth, perhaps because of ill treatment. With his master's permission he attended the lectures of the Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus, and after he was freed he began to teach philosophy himself in Rome.
Nicopolis
Around AD 93, the emperor Domitian banished all philosophers from Rome. Epictetus moved to Nicopolis, in north-western Greece, where he opened a school that attracted pupils from all over the empire. He lived very simply, with a few possessions, and in old age adopted a child who would otherwise have been abandoned.
One of his pupils, the young Arrian, later a historian and governor, took notes of his lessons in their lively, direct style. Eight books of Discourses were compiled, of which four survive, and Arrian condensed their essence into the Enchiridion.
The teaching
For Epictetus, some things are in our power: our judgements, desires and choices; others are not: our body, our reputation, our property, other people. Freedom and peace of mind come from caring only about the first and accepting the second calmly. Even a slave or a prisoner can be free in this sense.
His teaching deeply influenced the emperor Marcus Aurelius, who quotes him in his Meditations. The Enchiridion was read throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and modern cognitive therapy has acknowledged its debt to his idea that we are troubled by our opinions about events.
Anecdotes
The broken leg
An ancient story, told by the Christian writer Origen, says that when his master twisted his leg to torture him, Epictetus calmly warned him that he would break it, and when the leg broke, simply remarked that he had told him so. The story may be a legend explaining his lameness.
An iron lamp
Epictetus told his pupils that a thief once stole his iron lamp, and that he replaced it with an earthenware one. After his death, according to the satirist Lucian, an admirer bought that cheap lamp for three thousand drachmas, hoping to acquire his wisdom with it.
Frequently asked questions
Did Epictetus write books?
No. His teaching was recorded by his pupil Arrian in the Discourses and the Enchiridion, or Manual.
What is Stoicism?
A school of philosophy founded in Athens around 300 BC, which teaches that virtue is the only true good and that we should accept calmly what is outside our control.
Which translation of Epictetus is quoted on Guesseo?
The translation by George Long, published in 1877.