Epictetus (Greek: Ἐπίκτητος; ca. 55–ca. 135) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was probably born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present ay Pamukkale, Turkey), and lived in Rome until his exile to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece, where he lived most of his life and died. The name given by his parents, if one was given, is not known—the word epiktetos in Greek simply means "acquired."