Epictetus (c.50–c.135 CE) was born into slavery at Hierapolis in what is now western Turkey. Little is known about his early life, but at some point he became disabled (perhaps from birth), and later he was freed from slavery. He lived in Rome until around 93 CE, when the emperor Domitian banished philosophers from the city. Epictetus moved to Nicopolis in Greece, where he founded a school teaching the tenets of Stoicism. His teachings were recorded for posterity by one of his pupils, Arrian. Epictetus lived a long life, with few possessions, always following the principles he espoused.

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