Epictetus

Epictetus was born into slavery in Hierapolis, Phyrgia (present-day Turkey) in 55 AD. He spent most of his early life in Rome as a slave to Epaphroditos, who was a secretary to the Roman emperor Nero. With the permission of his master, Epictetus studied philosophy. Epictetus obtained his freedom in 68 AD, after which he taught philosophy in Rome. He eventually founded a philosophical school in Epirus, Greece. Epictetus’s teachings were transcribed by his pupil Arrian and many of them are compiled in the work The Discourses. Epictetus lived a simple life in Greece for the rest of his days, dying sometime around 135 AD.