Plotinus

Born in Roman Egypt around 204 or 205 CE, Plotinus studied philosophy in Alexandria under Ammonius Saccas. In his late thirties he went to Rome, where he taught and gathered a circle of students and admirers around him.

Plotinus is widely regarded as the founder of Neoplatonism. His philosophy describes all reality as flowing from a highest source, often called the One, and he explored how the soul can turn away from the distractions of ordinary life and move back toward that ultimate reality.

He did not write for easy reading, but his student Porphyry later arranged his treatises into the collection now known as the Enneads. Those works became deeply influential in later pagan, Christian, Jewish, and Islamic thought, helping secure Plotinus a lasting place in the history of philosophy.