Ammonius saccas 3rd century ad, alexandrian neoplatonist philosopher and teacher of plotinus. Known primarily for his commentaries on aristotle, which were said to be of greater benefit than anyone elses, he was also distinguished in geometry and astronomy. As required by law and adopted by principle, our notforprofit organization does not support or otherwise endorse any political candidate, party, campaign, or interest. The city of alexandria is interesting to the theosophical student, for there, just fifteen hundred years ago, existed the last great theosophical school in history the school which was begun by ammonius saccas, called theodidaktos, or godtaught, and ended with the death of hypatia. Ammonius saccas 3rd century ad, neoplatonist philosopher and teacher of plotinus. Ammonius, a disciple of pambo, and one of the most celebrated of the monks of nitria. I n september 2016, after a careful analysis of the state of the esoteric movement worldwide, a group of students decided to form the independent lodge of theosophists, whose priorities include the building of a better future in the different dimensions of life. Edwards points out that in fact neither eusebius nor porphyry in the passage cited by eusebius asserts that origens ammonius was ammonius saccas who taught plotinus. Inspired by the teachings of plato, and pythagoras. Sermone vulgari saccarium significat, quod nomen opinationibus nonnullis locum dedit.
Ammonius may refer to ammonius lithotomos 3rd century bc, greek lithotomist. Ammonius of athens 1st century ad, philosopher and teacher of plutarch. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter without a. Ammonius of alexandria, stadion ammonius 2 a minister of alexander balas, king of syria 14942 ammonius murders laodice and other members of the syrian royal family. That ammonius saccas taught both origen and plotinus is accepted by most.
Ammonius coming to understanding 2010 kindle edition by. This includes data values and the controlled vocabularies that house them. His pupils included origen, plotinus the famous neoplatonist, and a pagan origen. Because it was his inspiration that began something of a fire in the minds of those in alexandria at the time, where a smorgasbord of philosophy was to be had. Ammonius was born under the learned emperor and legal codifier theodosius ii, and was an adolescent when rome fell to the vandal army.
He was undoubtedly the biggest influence on plotinus in his development of neoplatonism, although little is known about his own philosophical views. Blavatsky, was the precursor of the modern theosophical society ts. Among his pupils was origen, who is widely considered as perhaps the greatest biblical scholar and church father. Thought originally to have been a porter, he taught rhetoric and an eclectic and esoteric form of platonism at alexandria. Ammonius saccas pdf ammonius, while giving a critique of previous discussions. Blavatsky in founding the theosophical society in 1875. Early neoplatonist school greek philosopher of alexandria, often called the founder of the neoplatonic school. Access to the complete content on oxford reference requires a subscription or purchase. Ammonius coming to understanding 2010 kindle edition by the ammonius foundation press. But ammonius was a modest man, and called himself merely a philalethian, or lover of truth.
On the latter view there was a christian origen as well as a platonist origen who. A man who introduced universal philosophy lay the foundation of neo platonism. Ammonius of alexandria christian philosopher 3rd century ad, christian writer confused with ammonius saccas. A significant feature of the situation of ammonius saccas, leiden. Pdf ammonius of alexandria, eusebius of caesarea, and the. Porphyry asserts that he was born of christian parents, and returned to the heathen religion. Siemons, then the date of birth of ammonius saccas would go back to 156 a. Ammonius a dictionary of early christian biography. Origen read his textual authority, scripture, in light of platonism. Ammonius saccas was an egyptian philosopher from alexandria who was often referred to as. Find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Information on ammonius of alexandria he is credited with the first gospel synopsis, a work that placed parallel passages from the other three canonical gospels against the gospel of matthew.
Religions free fulltext origen and the platonic tradition. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading ammonius coming to understanding 2010. Ammonius founded the eclectic theosophical school in alexandria in 193 ce, which according to helena p. Ammonius of alexandra victor in the stadion race at the olympic games, 256 b. Ammonius author of in aristotelis categorias commentarius. The details of his life are unknown, insomuch that he has frequently been confused with a christian philosopher of the same name. The objects which ammonius saccas had in view were the same as those of h. It may be, as elizabeth digeser has recently argued, that ammonius saccas. Ammonius lithotomos 3rd century bc, alexandrian greek lithotomist. The philosophy of ammonius saccas on23xd036pl0 idocpub. Ammonius is the author of in aristotelis categorias commentarius 0.
While the church of rome held up the jewish bible as the sole authority upon every subject, the gnostic schools of alexandria and ephesus had turned out thousands of students who recognized the absurdity of such a claim. He is mainly known as the teacher of plotinus, whom he taught for eleven years from 232 to 243. He was undoubtedly the biggest influence on plotinus in his development of neoplatonism, although little is known. The cognomen sakkas therefore referred to india as a marker of ethnic identity. James santucci, editor of theosophical history, in. Ammonius himself was distinguished by the epithet niceph. Ammonius saccas held the view that the philosophy of aristotle is in agreement with that of plato on most essential philosophical issues. Ammonius saccus by stefan carey theosophy downunder. During the last two centuries a remarkable similarity between the philosophical system of plotinus 205 270 a.
Later authors applied the nickname of saccas to ammonius. He started the neoplatonic school in alexandria in the year 193 a. This study situates origen of alexandria within the platonic tradition, presenting origenas a christian philosopher who taught and studied philosophy, of which theology was part and parcel. Some scholars supporting the view of the indian origins of ammonius saccas have also.
He was undoubtedly the biggest influence on plotinus in his development of neoplatonism. The ammonius foundation is a politically nonpartisan entity. He criticized false philosophies as well as heresies, but not the philosophy of plato. It is argued that ammonius was an independent thinker who, though a platonist, had a weaker commitment to plato than most of his contemporary platonists, and hence was uninterested in interschool polemics. Ammonius saccas, of alexandria lc linked data service.
The influence of the great alexandrian schools had not helped the early christians in their work of propaganda. Being of unusual stature, he and his brothers dioscorus, eusebius, and euthymius were called the tall brothers soz. From early childhood, however, he was repelled by the extreme dogmatism that characterized the vociferous alexandrian christian movement. Why bother with someone like ammonius saccus from so long ago. James santucci, editor of theosophical history,in 1994, and the original paper was. Of humble origin, he appears to have earned a livelihood as a porter. Neo or the new platonism, was expounded by porphyry in the third century ad, after being a student of plotinus, a student of. The book of revelation written under spirit control by apollonius. Ammonius of alexandria, eusebius of caesarea and the. Datasets available include lcsh, bibframe, lc name authorities, lc classification, marc codes, premis vocabularies, iso language codes, and more. The latter departed from alexandria in 243, joining an illfated expedition possibly as a court philosopher of. When ammonius died circa 242 ce, plotinus had been his pupil for a decade. His work was the basis of the eusebian canons, a division of the gospels into numbered sections that crossreferences the parallels to each other. The overarching mission of the ammonius foundation is to stimulate renewed appreciation for systematic philosophy, by funding excellent research on foundational themes in traditional metaphysics and philosophical theology.
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