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Ammonius Saccas held the view that the philosophy of Aristotle is in agreement with that of Plato on most essential philosophical issues. 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. Rather, his concern was to search for the truth in philosophy, which led him to study the works of both Plato and Aristotle, and appreciate them according to their merits. Focusing on the underlying thought behind the texts, Ammonius set aside doctrines forged by later philosophers, points of detail, and also certain flaws of the philosophers themselves, and reached an understanding of Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy as a whole, concluding that their basic doctrines are essentially the same.

This chapter examines the “Ammonian community” from its formation under the tutelage of Ammonius Saccas. It considers the role of Ammonius's heirs in the theology and politics of the late third century, and the growing push toward persecution, by establishing his identity and teachings. It argues that one heterodox Ammonius, and not two Ammonii—a “Christian” and a “pagan”—taught philosophy in early third-century Alexandria. It also discusses Porphyry of Tyre's account showing that Ammonius has perfected an approach to philosophy that became definitive of the Plotinian community in Rome, the Origenist communities in Alexandria and Caesarea, and the Iamblichaean community in Syria. Finally, it describes Ammonius's “philosophy without conflicts” as a way for him to achieve the return of his soul to its divine source.

This chapter examines the question of Origen's identity as well as his appropriation of Ammonius Saccas's teachings and how Ammonius's legacy evolved along a Christian path. It considers the testimony of Porphyry of Tyre and Eusebius of Caesarea that Origen the theologian studied with Ammonius Saccas in Alexandria. It also discusses Ammonius's influence on Origen's teaching and thought and contends that Origen adopted Ammonius's way of living and teaching and bequeathed it to his own students. In particular, it analyzes Origen's use of some of Ammonius's techniques for handling texts to set out his own “theology without conflicts.” Origen of Alexandria is therefore key to understanding both the wide-ranging influence of Ammonius's “philosophy without conflicts” and the new pressures that contributed to the Great Persecution two generations later.

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. It begins with a brief discussion of the life and work of Claudius Ptolemy, and how his contributions in philosophy have been all but forgotten. It then sets out the book's purpose, namely to prove that Ptolemy was very much a man of his time in that his philosophy is most similar to middle Platonism, the period in Platonic philosophy that extended from the first century BCE—with Antiochus of Ascalon, who was born near the end of the second century BCE and moved from Ascalon, in present-day Israel, to Athens to join the Academy—to the beginning of the third century BCE, with Ammonius Saccas, the Alexandrian philosopher and teacher of Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism. Both Antiochus and Ammonius Saccas are known for their syncretic tendencies.

This chapter examines how Plotinus took Ammonius Saccas's ideas to Rome and how he brought into sharp focus the role that Platonist philosophy played in the third-century public sphere. It first considers the careers of Plotinus and Porphyry of Tyre before discussing the extent to which Plotinus incorporated Ammonius's teaching into his own classroom. It argues that the exegetical practices, charismatic pedagogy, asceticism, and deep commitment to the teachings of Plato so apparent in Plotinus's circle can be attributed to the eleven years he spent as Ammonius's student in Alexandria. It also explores Plotinus's desire to found a community of philosophers in Campania and Porphyry's belief that he ought to help craft imperial legislation that would emulate divine law.

This book has argued that the ideas and networks of a small group of philosophers such as Porphyry of Tyre, Origen, Ammonius Saccas, Plotinus, and Iamblichus of Chalcis strongly influenced the religious and political culture of the Roman Empire in the third and early fourth centuries and led indirectly to the Great Persecution. In this concluding chapter, Porphyry's fragmentary anti-Christian works and his purpose in writing them are examined. After discussing some of the problems complicating the analysis of Porphyry's writings against Christians, the chapter turns to some of his views, including those concerning divination and rituals. It argues that Porphyry's texts led Hellene readers, especially priests and officials close to Ammonian circles, to believe that Christians were a danger to the Roman community.

This chapter argues for the internal unity of ‘pagan’ and Christian Platonic investigations into the topic of divine powers, by focusing on Origen of Alexandria’s doctrine, his sources (Justin and Bardaisan of Edessa, but also Ps. Aristotle’s De mundo, Philo, Pantaenus, and Ammonius Saccas), and his aftermath (mainly in Gregory of Nyssa’s thought) as a case study. Comparisons with Plotinus and a focus on Christ-Logos enrich the analysis. Within this framework, it offers a remarkably thorough discussion, which traces the interwoven threads of the idea of dunamis as an epinoia in Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and others, linking it to broader ontologically based impulses to apophaticism.