AMMONIO SACCA. - Philosopher who lived in Alexandria between A.D. 175 and 242: he was the founder of Neoplatonism. In his youth he earned his living by car-
rying sacks, whence the name “Saccas.” Born of Christian parents, he soon embraced the worship of pure philosophy and abandoned his paternal religion: Eusebius’s assertion that A. remained a Christian is due to a homonymy. The orientation of his school is indicated by the appellation “inspired by God,” by which he was called.
Since he left no writings, the surest guide to consult regarding his teaching is Porphyry, in the Vita Plotini. A. drew upon a sound eclecticism in order to reconcile earlier doctrines, especially Plato and Aristotle. Nemesius states that A. taught the immateriality of the soul; Hierocles speaks of his way of conceiving the union of soul and body; the Neoplatonic theories of the One and of emanationism probably go back to him. One should not, however, believe that the whole of Neoplatonic doctrine owes its origin to A., as though Plotinus had merely been its popularizer. He had many disciples, among them Plotinus and Herennius; and since the antagonism between Christianity and Neoplatonism did not immediately become apparent, some Christians also attended A.’s lectures.