Epictetus was born as a Roman slave in Hieropolis, in Asia Minor. As a youth, he was passed from one owner to another. Finally, a member of Nero's court, Epaphroditus, purchased Epictetus and allowed him to study with the Stoic philosopher, Musonius Rufus.
Epictetus soon surpassed his teacher, and his philosophical abilities so impressed his master that he was freed. Afterward, he founded his own Stoic school. One of his students, Arrian, transcribed and published his lectures as The Encheiridion (or the Manual) and The Discourses. Despite being physically weak and lame from his period as a slave, Epictetus developed a large following, even among the early Christians. In 90 A.D., when the Emperor Domitian banned the philosophers, Epictetus fled. In later life, he married and adopted a baby whom he had rescued from exposure.
