Ammonius Saccas

Ammonius Saccas
Ammonius Saccas
Born	175; Alexandria, Roman Egypt
Died	243 (aged 67–68); Alexandria, Roman Egypt
Era	Ancient philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Neoplatonism

Ammonius Saccas (/əˈmoʊniəs/; Greek: Ἀμμώνιος Σακκᾶς; 175 AD – 243 AD) was a Hellenistic Platonist self-taught philosopher from Alexandria, generally regarded as the precursor of Neoplatonism and/or one of its founders.^[1]^[2]^[3] He is mainly known as the teacher of Plotinus, whom he taught from 232 to 243.^[2] He was undoubtedly the most significant influence on Plotinus in his development of Neoplatonism, although little is known about his own philosophical views. Later Christian writers stated that Ammonius was a Christian, but it is now generally assumed that there was a different Ammonius of Alexandria who wrote biblical texts.

^ ^a ^b Siorvanes, Lucas (2018). "Plotinus and Neoplatonism: The Creation of a New Synthesis". In Keyser, Paul T.; Scarborough, John (eds.). Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 847–868. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199734146.013.78. ISBN 9780199734146. LCCN 2017049555.
^ ^a ^b Armstrong, A. Hilary; Duignan, Brian; Lotha, Gloria; Rodriguez, Emily (1 January 2021) [20 July 1998]. "Plotinus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Edinburgh: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021. Plotinus (born 205 CE, Lyco, or Lycopolis, Egypt?—died 270, Campania), ancient philosopher, the centre of an influential circle of intellectuals and men of letters in 3rd-century Rome, who is regarded by modern scholars as the founder of the Neoplatonic school of philosophy. [...] In his 28th year—he seems to have been rather a late developer—Plotinus felt an impulse to study philosophy and thus went to Alexandria. He attended the lectures of the most eminent professors in Alexandria at the time, which reduced him to a state of complete depression. In the end, a friend who understood what he wanted took him to hear the self-taught philosopher Ammonius Saccas. When he had heard Ammonius speak, Plotinus said, "This is the man I was looking for," and stayed with him for 11 years. Ammonius is the most mysterious figure in ancient Western philosophy. He was, it seems, a lapsed Christian (yet even this is not quite certain), and the one or two extant remarks about his thought suggest a fairly commonplace sort of traditional Platonism. A philosopher who could attract such devotion from Plotinus and who may also have been the philosophical master of the great Christian theologian Origen must have had something more to offer his pupils, but what it was is not known. That Plotinus stayed with him for 11 years is in no way surprising. One did not enter an ancient philosophical school to take courses and obtain a degree but rather to join in what might well be a lifelong cooperative following of the way to truth, goodness, and the ultimate liberation of the spirit.
^ Scott, Walter (1982). Hermetica: Introduction, texts, and translation. Random House. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-87773-338-6.

[Siorvanes_2018-1] Siorvanes, Lucas (2018). "Plotinus and Neoplatonism: The Creation of a New Synthesis". In Keyser, Paul T.; Scarborough, John (eds.). Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 847–868. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199734146.013.78. ISBN 9780199734146. LCCN 2017049555.

[Britannica-2] Armstrong, A. Hilary; Duignan, Brian; Lotha, Gloria; Rodriguez, Emily (1 January 2021) [20 July 1998]. "Plotinus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Edinburgh: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021. Plotinus (born 205 CE, Lyco, or Lycopolis, Egypt?—died 270, Campania), ancient philosopher, the centre of an influential circle of intellectuals and men of letters in 3rd-century Rome, who is regarded by modern scholars as the founder of the Neoplatonic school of philosophy. [...] In his 28th year—he seems to have been rather a late developer—Plotinus felt an impulse to study philosophy and thus went to Alexandria. He attended the lectures of the most eminent professors in Alexandria at the time, which reduced him to a state of complete depression. In the end, a friend who understood what he wanted took him to hear the self-taught philosopher Ammonius Saccas. When he had heard Ammonius speak, Plotinus said, "This is the man I was looking for," and stayed with him for 11 years. Ammonius is the most mysterious figure in ancient Western philosophy. He was, it seems, a lapsed Christian (yet even this is not quite certain), and the one or two extant remarks about his thought suggest a fairly commonplace sort of traditional Platonism. A philosopher who could attract such devotion from Plotinus and who may also have been the philosophical master of the great Christian theologian Origen must have had something more to offer his pupils, but what it was is not known. That Plotinus stayed with him for 11 years is in no way surprising. One did not enter an ancient philosophical school to take courses and obtain a degree but rather to join in what might well be a lifelong cooperative following of the way to truth, goodness, and the ultimate liberation of the spirit.

[3] Scott, Walter (1982). Hermetica: Introduction, texts, and translation. Random House. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-87773-338-6.

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Ammonius Saccas
Born	175 Alexandria, Roman Egypt
Died	243 (aged 67–68) Alexandria, Roman Egypt

Era	Ancient philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Neoplatonism^[1]