Epictetus of Hierapolis? Ἐπίκτητος as a Possible Ethnonym, and the meaning of his name.
A proposal on the Phrygian origins of Epictetus
One of the most prized sources of information for Stoic philosophy, especially during the time of the Roman Empire, are the Discourses and the Enchiridion of Epictetus (ca. 50–135 CE). Written by Arrian of Nicomedia, but derived from discussions that he heard in Epictetus’ school’, despite the uncontested value they hold for disclosing Epictetus’ philosophical thought, frustratingly little data about his background and life can be extracted from them. The few references to aspects of Epictetus’ life that are mentioned in other extant ancient writings unfortunately only offer passing, brief biographical snippets; such as recording his servile background, exile from Rome, infirmities, and commitment to celibacy (See Gell. 2.18.10, 15.11.5; Suda E 2424; and In Ench 272c.). Unhelpfully some of the few details that these sources might secure about his life conflict with each other; for example whether his lameness (which he alludes to at Diss. 1.8.14) was the result of rheumatism, or from beatings that he endured at the hands of his master Epaphroditus (Origen C. Cels. 1.7, and Suda E 2424). Regarding the place of his origin, only the Suda (a 10th century lexical/thematic encyclopaedia of Byzantine origin) supplies this information, stating that he was “Epictetus of Hierapolis in Phrygia”, Επίκτητος Ιεραπόλεως της Φρυγίας, (Suda, E 2424 = Schenkl test. XXI) which most commentators have taken to indicate that he was born in the city.
One aspect of Epictetus’ background which has received increasing attention from scholars is his name. With Ἐπίκτητος meaning “acquired”, introductions to the philosopher frequently opine that his name was an allusion to his having been bought/ acquired as a slave, and was intended to underscore that he was someone else’s property.1
The store of names that Romans utilized to find suitable appellations for their slaves has been considered by onomastic scholars such as Stephen Wilson,2 and different sources of their inspiration have been accordingly delineated. Some names were selected by masters to highlight the traits they hoped their slaves would exhibit, for instance Modestus or Pudens; or to reference the occupations/tasks they were to fulfil, such as Asclepiades (after Asclepius, the god of healing) for a physician, or Celadus (crowd’s roar) for a gladiator; or they were theophoric in origin, whereby the slave would be called after a favored deity and given names such as Dionysius, Apollonius, and Epaphroditus. Another popular custom (which prevailed in Attic slavery3) was to employ ethnonyms, where the putative or imagined4 origin of a slave influenced the name they would be assigned, and so slave names such as Afer, Asiaticus, Graecus, Gallus are attested in the historical record.5 It is this last category that the (to my knowledge) sole text from antiquity which reflects on the conventions that guide the naming of slaves chiefly centers; with Varro noting:
So, when three men have bought a slave each at Ephesus, sometimes one derives the name from Artemidorus; the man who sold the slaves, and thus calls his slave Artemas; another names his slave Ion from the region in Ionia, because he bought him there; the other names his slave Ephesius because he bought him at Ephesus. So each man chooses a name from one source or another, however it seems right to him.--Varro, Ling. 8.21. trans Kent (1938).
Sic tres cum emerunt Ephesi singulos servos, nonnunquam alius declinat nomen ab eo qui vendit Artemidorus, atque Artemam appellat, alius a regione quod ibi emit, ab Ion[i]a Iona, alius quod Ephesi Ephesium, sic alius ab alia aliqua re, ut visum est.
Here the origins of slaves are portrayed as determining their names. Firstly, by bearing the name of the individual who transacted their sale, and then receiving two varieties of ethnonyms: either a name which references their natal origin, or the location of the market where they were bought from. Finally of note, the use of ethnonyms for slaves is also touched upon in Plautus’ Trunculus (ca. 254–184 BCE), where the audience is informed that one of the characters’ slaves who originates from Syria is called Syra. (Pl. Truc. 365, 614.)
Being aware of the Romans use of ethnonyms for slave names, I suggest that it is noteworthy that north of Hierapolis, where the Suda associates Epictetus, lay the region of Phrygian Epictetus (᾿Επικτήτος Φρυγία). Strabo records that the nomenclature of this area was derived from its having been “acquired” (ἐπίκτητος) by the Attalid Kingdom from Bithynia in around 215 BCE (Strabo Geog. 12.4.3). Elsewhere in his work Strabo usefully plots the region’s territorial span; stating that: “To Phrygian Epictetus belong the Aizanoi, and the cities Nakoleia, Kotiaion, Midaion, Dorylaion, and Kadoi. Some people assign Kadoi to Mysia” (τῆς δ᾽ ἐπικτήτου Φρυγίας Ἀζανοί τέ εἰσι καὶ Νακολία καὶ Κοτιάειον καὶ Μιδάειον καὶ Δορυλάειον πόλεις καὶ Κάδοι: τοὺς δὲ Κάδους ἔνιοι τῆς Μυσίας φασίν).(Strabo Geog.12.8.12. For other references by Strabo to Phrygia Epictetus see Geog. 12.3.7, 12.4.1; 12.4.4; 12.4.5; and 12.8.1. On the territorial boundaries of Phrygia Epictetus consider also Ruge (1941), coll. 801-02.) These boundaries would mean that the southern-most section of Phrygia Epictetus was around 90-95 miles away from Hierapolis.
Figure 1 Map of Phrygia and surrounding areas in the 1-2nd century C.E. Copyright Ancient World Mapping Center, used with permission.
Strabo further documents that the inhabitants of Phrygia Epictetus came to identify themselves with the name, referring to themselves as being the “Epictetus” “Ἐπίκτητος.” (Geog. 12.1.3.) This claim is corroborated in the epigraphical record, with an inscription (OGIS 445, IGRR 401) that records the efforts of the “Epikteteis, and the Mysians and Abbaiitai” (Μυσοὶ ᾿Αββαιεῖται καὶ ᾿Επικτητεῖς), to honor the bravery that a certain C. Salluvius Naso displayed when he defended their interests during the turmoil of the Mithridatic Wars (88–63 BCE). Further evincing this region’s association with the name, a mint that produced bronze coins with the inscription “ΕΠΙΚΤΗΤΕ” (and similar derivations/abbreviations such as “ΕΠΙΚΤΗ”) was active in the area during the first century BCE.
I propose that the above evidence might suggest that Epictetus’ name was an ethnonym, in the same manner as a slave who had been sourced from Gaul or
Narbonensis might, respectively, have been called Gallus or Narbonensis. This theory was initially proposed in passing by Colardeau in 1903, who noted the nearby location of Epictetus Phyrgia to the Suda’s placing of Epictetus near Hierapolis.
If this suggestion is correct, the Suda’s decision to associate Epictetus with Hierapolis rather than with Phrygia Epictetus might be because of the notably different level of renown that the two locations enjoyed. Phrgyia Epictetus was a largely forested, hilly region that sustained a disparate population. In addition, to my knowledge its existence as a region is last attested in the early first century CE in Strabo’s Geography. By contrast Hierapolis was a large, economically and culturally significant center (its ruins cover almost 800,000m²), and it remained a prominent landmark on the Anatolian plateau even after its decline in the 7th century following raids by Persian armies and an earthquake. The city also obtained interest from ancient writers across the Mediterranean basin due to its system of hot springs, and it could boast a measure of intellectual pedigree by it being the birthplace of the rhetorician and influential politician Aelius Antipater (fl. 200 CE). In addition, with the rise of Christianity the numerous credited apostolic connections the city possessed meant that from late antiquity and into the Byzantine era (in which, of course, the Suda finds it provenance) Hierapolis’ renown was augmented and made independent of its economic and demographic success. It was, after all, referenced within canonical Christian scripture, being mentioned by the apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Colossians as a place where his co-worker Epaphrus labored (Col. 4:13), and the bishopric of the early Church father Papias (60–130 CE), who had reputed links to the apostle John, was established there (Eusebius Eccl. 3.36.2). Furthermore, the bodies of the apostle Philip and his two virgin daughters were said to rest within the city, a belief that instituted Hierapolis as a key center of pilgrimage within Asia Minor (Eusebius Eccl. 3.31.2-3). This latter tradition also inspired literature such as the late antique work the Acts of Philip, in which the first-century city and its officials are re-imagined and feature prominently in the text’s closing narrative. (Acts of Philip 107-47.)
If the Suda decided to locate Epictetus in Hierapolis, instead of within Phrygia Epictetus because of the former’s greater prominence, this situation might not be unlike someone today commenting that a person is associated with a particular city, when the actual place of their residence/origin is from a nearby, far less known location.
An additional explanation could be that Epictetus was born, or had become a slave in Phrygia Epictetus (and it should be noted that evidence of first century CE Roman slave-traders can be found across Phrygia8), but that he spent his youth in Hierapolis before he was transported to Rome and came to serve in the household of Epaphroditus. This situation would absolve the Suda of any charges of imprecision, as strictly speaking it does not state that Epictetus was born in Hierapolis, but rather that he was associated with it (Επίκτητος Ιεραπόλεως της Φρυγίας).
If either of the above scenarios are true, while this should modify where the interpreters of Stoicism introduce one of the most famous representatives of the school as having been born, there are, I believe, two more implications that can be drawn. Firstly, it should lessen the conviction with which some scholars state that Epictetus’ name was a “contemptuous and patronizing,”9 allusion to his servile background. The possibility remains, of course, that his name was intended to function as a double entendre, and in this regard future research might be profitably expended establishing whether any correlation exists between the name Ἐπίκτητος and its recipients’ status as a slave or freeborn person.10
Secondly, scholars have sometimes speculated that considering where Epictetus spent his youth might help to better contextualize aspects of his thought. In this regard, it is noteworthy that while Phrygia Epictetus was not a significant population centre, it was a focal point for Phrygian religious practice and devotion.11 As Marijana Ricl notes in her recent, learned study on the topic: “Generally speaking, the most prominent deity in the cultic landscape of Phrygia Epiktetos, the god who made his presence felt most potently everywhere, is Zeus.”12 Locations for devotion, which are indicated either by toponymic epithets or extant inscriptions and remains of votive offerings, which were largely produced by “uneducated country people,”13 are scattered throughout Phrygia Epictetus. The locals’ belief that Zeus was born near to the town of Aizanoi also prompted the building of a huge temple to Zeus’s honor which was constructed through the benefaction of Emperor Domitian.14 Epictetus’ background within Phrygia Epictetus might explain some distinctive features of his philosophy; in particular why, despite his maintaining a conventional Stoic perspective regarding the divine, in the words of one his most notable modern interpreters he: “consistently speaks of God (or Zeus) in tones that convey personal faith”, and why throughout his discussions there are “ubiquitous references to God or Zeus.”15 In addition, if Epictetus’ adolescence had been spent in Phrygia Epictetus this might provide background to understand his frequent commendation of presenting sacrifices to God, which in one passage he explicitly defends by appealing to the actions of his, and his audience’s, forebears.16
Works Cited
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Practical Guide to Life” in Knowledge, Text and Practice in Ancient Technical
Writing, edited by Marco Formisano and Philip van der Eijk. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. 163-185.
- Colardeau, Étude sur Épictète, Thèse Paris 1903.
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84, 1–75.
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edited by Richard Goulet, Paris: CNRS éditions, 106-151.
-Hunt, P. 2018. Ancient Greek and Roman Slavery. New York: Wiley.
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Education, and the Graffiti of the Palatine Paedagogium" in Roman Slavery Roman
Material Culture, edited by Michele George. Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
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LCL 335. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.
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the Levant from the Lindgren Collection. San Mateo, CA: Chrysopylon Publications.
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Epigrphica Anatolica 50, 133-148.
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Revivals" in The Adventure of the Illustrious Scholar: Papers Presented to Oscar
White Muscarella, edited by Elizabeth Simpson. Leiden: Brill. 124-138.
-Ruge, W. RE XX 1 (1941), cols. 781-868, s.v. "Phrygia" 1 (Topographie).
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to Live. Penguin Books, London.
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Footnotes
1 For example, see Huttunen (2009) v, Stephens (2012) 42, Sellars (2019) 5, and Long (2019) ix. See also p.7 below.
2 Wilson (2004), 28-9.
3 Strabo Geog. 7.3.12, on this see Hunt (2018) 179-80.
4 That ethnonyms do not always provide a reliable indication of the true provenance of slaves see Keegan (2013) 79.
5 Keegan (2013) 79.
6 On the coinage from the region of Phrygia Epictetus, see Thonemann, (2013a) 28, see also von Aulock (1967), 3568-80, and (1987) 13-14.
7 On this coin, which once belonged in the Lindgren Collection, see number 947 in Lindgren and Kovacs (1985).
8 See Thonnemon (2013a) 30.
9 Jones and Sidwell (1997) 169.
10 Undertaking such a large-scale project would, of course, fall outside of the scope of this article. It can be noted though that the name Ἐπίκτητος was not a rare one in antiquity, occurring 432 times in the Lexicon of Greek Names, and does not appear to be linked with slavery in any period. There is also an example (not listed in LGN) dated to 305 CE of a freeborn individual from within the region of Phrygia Epictetus (in Kotiaion) with the name—so see Thonemann (2013b) 130.
11 Roller (2018) 129.
12 Ricl (2017) 136.
13 Roller (2018) 133.
14 Ricl 2017 134.
15 Long (2004) 17, 145.
16 Ench. 31: “But it is also appropriate to offer libations and sacrifices, and first fruits, in accordance with our forebears” σπένδειν δὲ καὶ θύειν καὶ ἀπάρχεσθαι κατὰ τὰ πάτρια ἑκάστοτε προσήκει καθαρῶς καὶ μὴ ἐπισεσυρμένως μηδὲ ἀμελῶς μηδέ γε γλίσχρως μηδὲ ὑπὲρ δύναμιν. See also Diss. 2.18.13.