ABSTRACT
Born a Phrygian slave and emancipated as a youth at Rome during or soon after the imperial rule of Nero, Epictetus made his mark as the philosophical teacher of young men in the resplendent city of Nicopolis in North Western Greece. Epictetus does not speak, of a meaningful life, but his recorded work provides an in-depth exposition of what such a life, according to Stoic values and Stoic world view, would involve. As Epictetus explains, instruction in Stoic philosophy and assiduous practice of its precepts are essential to the project of making something of oneself. The students he is addressing are on the threshold of careers in such professions as military and government service, law, and education. Epictetus sets the bar for a meaningful life very high, but the height is relative to the personality and natural endowments of individuals. Only a few have the potential to become suitable subjects for public recognition and eulogistic biography.
