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Plotinus: Ammonius Saccas
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Plotinus was born perhaps in the Egyptian town of Lyco, or Lycopolis. He turned to philosophy at the age of 28 and studied for 11 years with the eminent philosopher Ammonius Saccas at Alexandria.
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Plotinus took up the study of philosophy at the age of twenty-seven, around the year 232, and travelled to Alexandria to study. There Plotinus was dissatisfied with every teacher he encountered until an acquaintance suggested he listen to the ideas of Ammonius Saccas. Upon hearing Ammonius lecture, he declared to his friend, "this was the man I was looking for," and began to study intently under his new instructor. Besides Ammonius, Plotinus was ... influenced by the works of Alexander of Aphrodisias, Numenius, and various Stoics.
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At the end of his time with Ammonius, Plotinus joined the expedition of the Roman emperor Gordian III against Persia (242-243), with the intention of trying to learn something at first hand about the philosophies of the Persians and Indians. The expedition came to a disastrous end in Mesopotamia... when Gordian was murdered by the soldiers and Philip the Arabian was proclaimed emperor. Plotinus escaped with difficulty and made his way back to Antioch. From there he went to Rome, where he settled at the age of 40.
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Plotinus was born in 204 C.E. in Egypt, the exact location of which is unknown. In his mid-twenties Plotinus gravitated to Alexandria, where he attended the lectures of various philosophers, not finding satisfaction with any until he discovered the teacher Ammonius Saccas. He remained with Ammonius until 242, at which time he joined up with the Emperor Gordian on an expedition to Persia, for the purpose, it seems, of engaging the famed philosophers of that country in the pursuit of wisdom. The expedition never met its destination, for the Emperor was assassinated in Mesopotamia, and Plotinus returned to Rome to set up a school of philosophy. By this time, Plotinus had reached his fortieth year.
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Plotinus was born in Lycopolis, Egypt in 204 or 205 C.E. When he was 28, a growing interest in philosophy led him to the feet of one Ammonius Saccas in Alexandria. After ten or eleven years with this obscure though evidently dominating figure, Plotinus was moved to study Persian and Indian philosophy. In order to do so, he attached himself to the military expedition of Emperor Gordian III to Persia in 243. The expedition was aborted when Gordian was assassinated by his troops. Plotinus thereupon seems to have abandoned his plans, making his way to Rome in 245.
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Plotinus (c 203-270 CE) is generally regarded as the founder of Neo-Platonism and is, perhaps, its most important representative. At the age of 28, he turned to philosophy, seeking teachers in the intellectual climate of Alexandria. He was a pupil of Ammonius Saccas, who had been a teacher of Origen, the noted theologian. After 11 years with Ammonius, Plotinus traveled with Emperor Gordianus III to Persia, where he was exposed to Indian ideas. He fled from Persia to Antioch and then on to Rome immediately after the death of Gordianus, where he established a school of philosophy. Between 253 and 270, Plotinus wrote The Enneads, which were then catalogued and organized by his student, Porphyry.
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Ammonius Saccas