Information About

Epaphroditos




In Ancient Rome former slaves could themselves own slaves; the philosopher Epictetus was Epaphroditus's freedman.

He is probably not the same person as the Epaphroditus to whom Josephus dedicated his '' Antiquities Of The Jews '', who was probably a freedman of the emperor Trajan , or the Epaphroditus mention by St. Paul in the '' Epistle To The Philippians '' in the New Testament .

His name originates from the Greek Language and means "loving" in the sense of being devoted to Aphrodite . The Romans often gave slaves of Greek origins illustrious names from Greek Mythology and culture, for example Claudius 's freedman Narcissus , Nero's freedman Polyclitus and Antonia Minor 's freedwoman Caenis .


REFERENCES

  • William Smith (ed) (1870), ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Vol 2 p. 24