Abstract: Discusses the life of Epictetus, and situates him in his cultural and intellectual context. He was taught Stoicism by Musonius Rufus, and the salient doctrines of traditional Stoicism are compared with Epictetus’ main themes, with a view to assess his originality. Epictetus plays down Stoic paradoxes and technicalities, focusing instead on moral progress and the fallibility of ordinary persons.

Keywords: Epictetus, ethics, fallibility, moral progress, Musonius Rufus, Stoicism,