Ammonius Saccas

Ammonius Saccas (/əˈmoʊniəs/; Greek: Ἀμμώνιος Σακκᾶς; fl. 3rd century AD) was a Greek philosopher from Alexandria who was often referred to as one of the founders of Neoplatonism. 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 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.

Not much is known about the life of Ammonius Saccas.

His cognomen "Sakkas" has been interpreted to indicate that he was a porter in his youth. This seems to be a misreading of "Sakkas" for "sakkophoros" (porter) which is grammatically incorrect. However Erich Seeberg argued that the cognomen refers to the "Śākyas" of India, the ruling clan to which Gautama Buddha also belonged. The "Śākyas" (related to Iranian Saka, Scythians and Indo-Scythians) were known in antiquity. The cognomen "Sakkas" therefore referred to India as a marker of ethnic identity. This is, according to this interpretation, supported by the fact that Ammianus Marcellinus refers to him as "Saccas Ammonius", thus as the "Sacian Ammonius", which makes any reading as denoting "sakkos" impossible. This interpretation of the name, which has subsequently been contested, would corroborate Porphyry's report that Plotinus, Ammonius' foremost student, acquired his high esteem for Indian philosophy and his eager desire to travel to India from Ammonius.

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