Plotinus
204–270 CE · Egyptian-Greek (Alexandria/Rome) · Late Roman Empire
Known for: The founder of Neoplatonism who was so ashamed of having a body that he refused to sit for a portrait
Plotinus developed Neoplatonism — a philosophical system describing reality as emanations from the One (the ultimate source of all existence), through Intellect, to Soul, to the material world. His Enneads influenced Augustine, Islamic philosophy, and Christian mysticism profoundly.
He reportedly experienced mystical union with the One four times during his life — a direct, unmediated experience of ultimate reality.
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