Discourses and Selected Writings

The legacy of Greek philosophy that Epictetus represents began in the 6th century BCE. The earliest Greek philosophers, such as Thales of Miletus (c. 626-c. 548), Pythagoras (c. 560-c. 495), and Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570-c. 478), emphasized topics such as the origins and substance of the universe and the existence (or possible nonexistence) and true nature of the gods—the very topics Epictetus himself scoffs at (209). While this kind of speculation remained a major part of ancient philosophy, the philosopher Socrates (c. 470-399) placed more emphasis on moral subjects that people could use to improve their ethical behavior. Although discussions on topics like the nature of the human soul are attributed to Socrates, he also debated at length on the meaning of virtue, how to achieve happiness, and similar ideas that could be put into practice.

In the centuries between Socrates’s death and the conquest of Greece by the Roman Empire in the 2nd century BCE, numerous rival schools of philosophy developed. These schools were mostly influenced by Socrates’s ideas and methods of debating. The school Epictetus belonged to, Stoicism, had been founded by Zeno of Citium (c. 334–c. 262). It was very popular among the Roman elites, to the point that Stoicism was arguably the “state philosophy” of the Roman Empire.