Life The origins and meaning of Ammonius' cognomen, "Sakkas", are disputed. Many scholars have interpreted it as indicating he was a porter in his youth, a view supported in antiquity by Byzantine bishop Theodoret.Mozley, J.R., "Ammonius Saccas", Dictionary of Early Christian Biography, (Henry WAce, ed.), John Murrary & Co., London, 1911; LSJ sv. σακκᾶςTheodoret, Græcarum affectionum curatio, Book 6, Paragraph 96. Others have asserted that this is a misreading of "Sakkas" for "sakkophoros" (porter). Some others have connected the cognomen with the "Śākyas", an ancient ruling clan of India,[William H. McNeill: The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community, pp. 380][E. Seeberg, "Ammonius Sakas" Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte, vol. LX, 1941, pp. 136–170; Ernst Benz, "Indische Einflüsse auf die frühchristliche Theologie" Abhandlungen der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse, Jahrgang 1951, no. 3, Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz, pp. 1–34, pp. 30ff.;R.T. Wallis "Phraseology and Imagery in Plotinus and Indian Thought" in R. Baine Harris (ed.), Neoplatonism and Indian Thought (Norfolk, VA, 1982): The International Society for Neoplatonic Studies pp.119–120 n. 72.] claiming that Ammonius Saccas was of Indian origin. This view has both been subsequently contestedHans-Rudolf Schwyzer, Ammonios Sakkas, der Lehrer Plotins (Westdeutscher Verlag, 1983). p.83.Clifford Hindley: "Ammonios Sakkas. His Name and Origin" Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte 75, 1964, pp. 332–336. and supportedR.T. Wallis "Phraseology and Imagery in Plotinus and Indian Thought" in R. Baine Harris (ed.), Neoplatonism and Indian Thought (Norfolk, VA, 1982): The International Society for Neoplatonic Studies pp.119–120 n. 72. by more recent scholarship. Some scholars supporting Ammonius' Indian origin have also contended that this ancestry is consistent with the passion of his foremost student Plotinus for India, and helps to explain the philosophical similarities between Vedanta and Neoplatonism, which many scholars attribute to Indian influence.J. Lacrosse, “Plotinus, Porphyry and India: a Re-Examination,” in P. Vassilopoulou (ed.), Late Antique Epistemology. Other Ways to Truth (New York: 2009), 103–13.Gregorios, PM (ed.), 2002, Neoplatonism and Indian Philosophy, AlbanyStaal, JF, 1961, Advaita and Neoplatonism. A Study in Comparative Philosophy, Madras.Harris, R. Baine (ed.), Neoplatonism and Indian Thought, Norfolk Va., 1982: The International Society for Neoplatonic StudiesLacrosse, J., 2005a, 'The commensurability of mystical experiences in the East and in the West. A comparison between Plotinus and Çankara', in A. Dierkens and B. Beyer of Ryke (eds.), Mystique. The Passion of the One, from Antiquity to the Present, Problèmes d'Histoire des Religions, Volume XV, Brussels, pp. 215–23.Brunner, F., 1981, 'A comparison between Plotinus and viçishtâdvaita', in Les Cahiers de Fontenay no. 19-22. Neo-Platonism. Mixes offered to Jean Trouillard, Paris, pp. 101–24. On the other hand, scholars contesting his Indian origins point out that Ammonius was from the Brucheion quarter of Alexandria, which was the royal quarter of the city inhabited mostly by Greeks,Dennis C. Clark, "Review of Jean-Michel Charrue: De l’être et du monde Ammonius, Plotin, Proclus" The International Journal of the Platonic Tradition 01 Jan 2012, Volume 6: Issue 1, p 150 and that the name "Ammonius" was common to many Greeks, with a number of scholars and historians supporting a Greek origin for Ammonius. However, his name is theophoric to the deity Amun, indicating possible Egyptian origin.
Life The origins and meaning of Ammonius' cognomen, "Sakkas", are disputed. Many scholars have interpreted it as indicating he was a porter in his youth, a view supported in antiquity by Byzantine bishop Theodoret.Mozley, J.R., "Ammonius Saccas", Dictionary of Early Christian Biography, (Henry WAce, ed.), John Murrary & Co., London, 1911; LSJ sv. σακκᾶςTheodoret, Græcarum affectionum curatio, Book 6, Paragraph 96. Others have asserted that this is a misreading of "Sakkas" for "sakkophoros" (porter). Some others have connected the cognomen with the "Śākyas", an ancient ruling clan of India,[William H. McNeill: The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community, pp. 380][E. Seeberg, "Ammonius Sakas" Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte, vol. LX, 1941, pp. 136–170; Ernst Benz, "Indische Einflüsse auf die frühchristliche Theologie" Abhandlungen der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse, Jahrgang 1951, no. 3, Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz, pp. 1–34, pp. 30ff.;R.T. Wallis "Phraseology and Imagery in Plotinus and Indian Thought" in R. Baine Harris (ed.), Neoplatonism and Indian Thought (Norfolk, VA, 1982): The International Society for Neoplatonic Studies pp.119–120 n. 72.] claiming that Ammonius Saccas was of Indian origin. This view has both been subsequently contestedHans-Rudolf Schwyzer, Ammonios Sakkas, der Lehrer Plotins (Westdeutscher Verlag, 1983) p.83.Clifford Hindley: "Ammonios Sakkas. His Name and Origin" Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte 75, 1964 pp. 332–336. and supportedR.T. Wallis "Phraseology and Imagery in Plotinus and Indian Thought" in R. Baine Harris (ed.), Neoplatonism and Indian Thought (Norfolk, VA, 1982): The International Society for Neoplatonic Studies pp.119–120 n. 72. by more recent scholarship. Some scholars supporting Ammonius' Indian origin have also contended that this ancestry is consistent with the passion of his foremost student Plotinus for India, and helps to explain the philosophical similarities between Vedanta and Neoplatonism, which many scholars attribute to Indian influence.J. Lacrosse, “Plotinus, Porphyry and India: a Re-Examination,” in P. Vassilopoulou (ed.), Late Antique Epistemology. Other Ways to Truth (New York: 2009), 103–13.Gregorios, PM (ed.), 2002, Neoplatonism and Indian Philosophy, AlbanyStaal, JF, 1961, Advaita and Neoplatonism. A Study in Comparative Philosophy, Madras.Harris, R. Baine (ed.), Neoplatonism and Indian Thought, Norfolk Va., 1982: The International Society for Neoplatonic StudiesLacrosse, J., 2005a, 'The commensurability of mystical experiences in the East and in the West. A comparison between Plotinus and Çankara', in A. Dierkens and B. Beyer of Ryke (eds.), Mystique. The Passion of the One, from Antiquity to the Present, Problèmes d'Histoire des Religions, Volume XV, Brussels, pp. 215–23.Brunner, F., 1981, 'A comparison between Plotinus and viçishtâdvaita', in Les Cahiers de Fontenay no. 19-22. Neo-Platonism. Mixes offered to Jean Trouillard, Paris, pp. 101–24. On the other hand, scholars contesting his Indian origins point out that Ammonius was from the Brucheion quarter of Alexandria, which was the royal quarter of the city inhabited mostly by Greeks,Dennis C. Clark, "Review of Jean-Michel Charrue: De l’être et du monde Ammonius, Plotin, Proclus" The International Journal of the Platonic Tradition 01 Jan 2012, Volume 6: Issue 1, p 150 and that the name "Ammonius" was common to many Greeks, with a number of scholars and historians supporting a Greek origin for Ammonius. However, his name is theophoric to the deity Amun, indicating possible Egyptian origin.