c. 175–242 CE · Platonist philosopher · teacher of Plotinus
Ammonius Saccas
Ἀμμώνιος Σακκᾶς
In Alexandria: c. 232–242 CE
An Alexandrian teacher who wrote nothing; Porphyry says three of his pupils agreed among themselves to keep his doctrines secret. Plotinus found in him the teacher he had been seeking and studied with him for eleven years; Longinus and an Origen also heard him. He is the root from which Neoplatonism grew; the name Saccas may mean "sack-carrier".
Their life and work
Porphyry tells the meeting: Plotinus, in his twenty-eighth year, went from teacher to teacher in Alexandria and came away downcast, until a friend took him to Ammonius, and after hearing him he said, 'This is the man I was looking for' (Life of Plotinus 3). Hierocles, two centuries later, makes him reconcile Plato and Aristotle. Porphyry also says he was brought up a Christian and gave up the faith as soon as he took up philosophy (in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 6.19.7); Eusebius calls this a falsehood and says he kept the faith to the end of his life (6.19.9–10).
He wrote nothing: Longinus names him among the Platonists who did not write (Life of Plotinus 20). Porphyry says that Erennius, Plotinus and an Origen agreed among themselves to keep his teaching secret, and that Erennius broke the pact first (Life 3). What he taught has to be pieced together from his pupils and from later reports, and modern reconstructions differ.
Our device: Their emblem is a closed book-chest. No portrait of any of these people survives. The emblems are our devices.
Moments
- 232–243 CE · Plotinus studies with Ammonius Saccas Known: attested
In the show
- Ammonius Saccas & Origins of Neoplatonism, episode 22, at 0 secondsTranscriptAmmonius Saccas and the origins of Neoplatonism: the episode's opening.Known: attested
- Ammonius’ Name & Eastern Influence, episode 22, at 3 minutes 21 secondsTranscriptAmmonius' name and the Eastern question.Known: attested
- Was Ammonius Christian?, episode 22, at 5 minutes 13 secondsTranscriptKnown: attested
+ 5 more
- Ammonius Saccas & Origins of Neoplatonism, episode 22, at 0 secondsTranscript“some writers have stated that Ammonia Socakis was a Christian but then possibly conflated that with a different ammonia of Alexandria who wrote biblical texts.” (intended: Ammonius Saccas)Correct: Eusebius, Church History 6.19.10.Known: attested
- Ammonius’ Name & Eastern Influence, episode 22, at 3 minutes 21 secondsTranscript“ammonia Sakus was was most likely not a given or proper name. It was an epitet.” (intended: Ammonius Saccas)Known: attested
Correction
- What was said
- "Ammonius" was not a proper name.
- What the sources say
- Ammonius is an ordinary Egyptian Greek name, from Amun; "Saccas" is the epithet, explained in late sources as "sack-carrier". A link to the Sakas of Scythia and India is speculation.
- Was Ammonius Christian?, episode 22, at 5 minutes 13 secondsTranscript“Pfrey I guess said that the parents of Ammonia Sakus were Christians” (intended: Ammonius Saccas)Porphyry, quoted by Eusebius, Church History 6.19.7.Known: attested
- Persephone, Hades, and the soul’s descent, episode 4, at 1 hour 16 minutes 20 secondsTranscript“who was taught by Ammonia Sakus, the Cythian sage” (intended: Ammonius Saccas)Known: attested
Correction
- What was said
- Ammonius was "the Scythian sage".
- What the sources say
- No ancient source calls Ammonius a Scythian.
- Nearest the show comes: Philosophy · Chronology: PlotinusPlotinus; Ammonius is not named in the entry.Known: attested
Sources (7)
- Porphyry, Life of Plotinus 3
- Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 6.19.6–7
- F. M. Schroeder, "Ammonius Saccas", in Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt II.36.1 (Berlin, 1987) 493–526
- Photius, Library codd. 214, 251 (Hierocles)
- Porphyry, Against the Christians fr. 39 Harnack (in Eusebius 6.19.7)
- Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 6.19.9–10
- Porphyry, Life of Plotinus 20