AMMONIUS SACCAS (175-242 A.D.

)
He [ Ammonius ] adopted the doctrines which were received in Egypt
concerning the Universe and the Deity, considered as constituting one
great whole; concerning the eternity of the world, the nature of souls,
the empire of Providence and the government of the world by daimons. 
He also established a system of moral discipline which allowed the
people in general to live according to the laws of their country and the
dictates of nature; but required the wise to exalt their minds by
contemplation and to mortify the body . . . and ascending after death to
the presence of the Supreme Parent. In order to reconcile the popular
religions, and particularly the Christian, with this new system, he made
the whole history of the heathen gods an allegory, maintaining that they
were only celestial ministers entitled to an inferior kind of worship; and
he acknowledged that Jesus Christ was an excellent man and the friend
of God, but alleged that it was not his design entirely to abolish the
worship of demons, and that his only intention was to purify the ancient
religion. 

Edinburgh Encyclopedia  (First American Edition, edited by David

Brewster, published 1832)

I have urged 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. His concern rather 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 left 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.  We do not know which these doctrines were, but I
have proposed that one such doctrine was that Plato and Aristotle
maintain that there is only one God, that is, an intellect which accounts
for both the intelligible and the sensible reality and this principle
summarizes the entire intelligible realm, on the assumption that the
transcendent Forms constitute the divine thoughts.  I have also argued
that Ammonius is likely to have considered the two philosophers in
accord also on how God accounts for the existence of the world and how
the intelligible and the sensible realm relate to each other. An agreement
on such issues would have suggested to him that Aristotle was attached
to the essence of Plato’s philosophy, which for him consisted in
metaphysics.
Ammonius’ thesis may have triggered some discussion.  We hear that his
contemporary Platonist Eubulus wrote a work entitled On Aristotle’s
objections to Plato’s Republic, but we do not know anything about it.
Plotinus, however, disagreed with the unqualified acceptance of
Ammonius’ thesis and, as we will see in the next chapter, he often
criticizes Aristotle for departing from Plato’s doctrines. Yet the fact that
he did pay considerable attention to Aristotle and his Peripatetic
commentators may well attest to Ammonius’ impact upon him.

George E. Karamanolis, book entitled: Plato and Aristotle in Agreement:

Platonists on Aristotle from Antiochus to Porphyry, first published in
2006.

Neoplatonism begins with Ammonius Saccas, but almost nothing is

known of this philosopher. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt in
about 175 A.D. His parents were poor and he received little formal
education. According to the writers Suidas and Ammianus
Marcellinus, Ammonius, as a young man, had earned his living as
a porter (corn carrier) on the docks of Alexandria, hence his
nickname of "Sack-bearer" (Saccas for sakkophoros).

Ammonius Saccas was a self-taught philosopher; even so, he is the

actual founder of Neoplatonism. Ammonius was a charismatic
teacher. He wrote no books and, with the aid of his pupils, kept his
teachings secret after the manner of the Pythagoreans.
Accordingly, we have no direct evidence of his philosophical beliefs.
He was a mysterious figure, almost a cult-leader. He seems to have
been able to form a mystical syncretism of Plato with Indian and
Egyptian philosophies and theologies. We do know that two of his
pupils were extremely important and brilliant philosophers: Origen
and Plotinus. Origen was a Christian but Plotinus was not. From the
fact that the writings of both Origen and Plotinus contain many
references to Plato's dialogues and viewpoints, I infer that
Ammonius Saccas must have been, in large measure, a Platonist. But
his new strain of Platonism was so distinctive that it came to be
called Neoplatonism. Hierocles affirms that Ammonius' aim was to
reconcile the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, and to combine
mysticism with eclecticism. Nemesis, a Christian bishop and
Neoplatonist of the late fourth century A.D., cites two teachings,
which he declares contain the views of Ammonius. These teachings
concerned the nature of the soul and its relation to the body; they
were stated to be oral teachings only, since Ammonius was strongly
opposed to making any written accounts of his beliefs.

Ammonius Saccas is reputed to be the first philosopher to employ

the word theosophia, meaning "divine wisdom." He used this word to
designate what he felt to be the essential teachings of the major
religions of his time; these teachings became known as an "eclectic
theosophic system." Ammonius, in his school, insisted upon strict
moral discipline based on a mode of life that accorded with natural
law; he strongly advocated exercising and purifying the mind by
philosophical contemplation.

Porphyry, the most important student of Plotinus, in his book

entitled On the Life of Plotinus and the Arrangement of his Work, says the
following:

... At twenty-seven he [Plotinus]

was caught by the passion for
philosophy: he was directed to
the most highly reputed
professors to be found at
Alexandria; but he used to come
from their lectures saddened
and discouraged. A friend to
whom he opened his heart
divined his temperamental
craving and suggested
Ammonius, whom he had not yet
tried. Plotinus went, heard a
lecture, and exclaimed to his
comrade: "This is the man I was
looking for."

From that day he followed

Ammonius continuously, and
under his guidance made such
progress in philosophy that he
became eager to investigate the
Persian methods and the system
adopted among the Indians. It
happened that the Emperor
Gordian was at that time
preparing his campaign against
Persia; Plotinus joined the army
 and went on the expedition. He
was then thirty-eight, for he had
passed eleven entire years under
Ammonius. When Gordian was
killed in Mesopotamia, it was
only with great difficulty that
Plotinus came off safe to
Antioch. ...

In my view, the relationship of Plotinus to Ammonius is strongly

reminiscent of the relationship of Plato to Socrates! Like Ammonius,
Socrates (470-399 B.C.) left no written works; he was strictly an oral
teacher. Also, both Ammonius and Socrates originally held relatively
menial occupations.  Ammonius was literally a sack carrier working
on the docks of Alexandria, while Socrates was an Athenian
stonemason.

The fact that Ammonius Saccas was initially a poorly educated and
humble laborer on the docks of Alexandria, reminds me of the well-
known American social philosopher, Eric Hoffer (1898-1983).  Hoffer
was initially a migrant laborer but finally became a longshoreman on
the docks of Los Angeles.  Like Ammonius, Hoffer had very little
formal education; his education came from his life experiences not
the classroom.  The biggest difference between the two men was that
Hoffer was the author of ten books while Ammonius wrote nothing. 
Both men were philosophers of the highest level; however; Hoffer
wrote mostly about social issues while Ammonius mostly taught
metaphysics.

Besides Plotinus and Origen the Christian, other disciples of

Ammonius included Herennius, Longinus, Heracles the Christian,
Olympius, Antonius, and a pagan also named Origen.

Fragments left from Porphyry's book entitled, Against the Christians,

give details about the life and teachings of Ammonius. According to
Porphyry, his parents were Christian, but upon learning Greek
philosophy, Ammonius rejected his parents' religion and returned to
paganism. However, the Christian historian Eusebius (263-339 A.D.)
disputes this per the following quotation from his work entitled
History of the Church (Book VI, Chapter 19):

... As an example of this

absurdity take a man whom I
met when I was young, and who
was then greatly celebrated and
still is, on account of the writings
which he has left. I refer to
Origen, who is highly honored
by the teachers of these
doctrines. For this man, having
been a hearer of Ammonius,
who had attained the greatest
proficiency in philosophy of any
in our day, derived much benefit
from his teacher in the
knowledge of the sciences; but as
to the correct choice of life, he
pursued a course opposite to his.
For Ammonius, being a
Christian, and brought up by
Christian parents, when he gave
himself to study and to
philosophy straightway
conformed to the life required
by the laws. But Origen, having
been educated as a Greek in
Greek literature, went over to
the barbarian recklessness. And
carrying over the learning which
he had obtained, he hawked it
about, in his life conducting
himself as a Christian and
contrary to the laws, but in his
opinions of material things and
of the Deity being like a Greek,
and mingling Grecian teachings
with foreign fables. For he was
continually studying Plato, and
he busied himself with the
writings
of Numenius and Cronius, Apoll
ophanes, Longinus, Moderatus,
and Nicomachus, and those
famous among
the Pythagoreans. And he used
the books of Chaeremon the
Stoic, and of Cornutus.
Becoming acquainted through
 them with the figurative
interpretation of the Grecian
mysteries, he applied it to the
Jewish Scriptures. ...

... These things are said by

Porphyry in the third book of
his work against the Christians.
He speaks truly of the industry
and learning of the man, but
plainly utters a falsehood (for
what will not an opposer of
Christians do?) when he says
that he went over from the
Greeks, and that Ammonius fell
from a life of piety into heathen
customs. For the doctrine of
Christ was taught to Origen by
his parents, as we have shown
above. And Ammonius held the
divine philosophy unshaken and
unadulterated to the end of his
life. His works yet extant show
this, as he is celebrated among
many for the writings which he
has left. ...

Based on the above we have two major issues between Porphyry and
Eusebius:

1) Was Ammonius a Christian or a pagan? Porphyry says he was a

pagan; Eusebius demurs. Another Church Father, Jerome, in his
work entitled On Illustrious Men  (Chapter 55) says:

Porphyry falsely accused him

[Ammonius] of having become a
heathen again, after being a
Christian, but it is certain that
he continued a Christian until
the very end of his life.

2) Did Ammonius the Neoplatonist write any books? Porphyry and

Plotinus both indicate that Ammonius left no written works.
Conversely, Eusebius asserts that Ammonius was celebrated for the
writings that he left.

This confusion in identity may be due to the fact that Ammonius

taught both Plotinus the Neoplatonist and Origen the Christian; later
scholars on both sides wrote their own opinions about Ammonius,
ignorant of the historical context in which the man lived. The
Neoplatonist school of philosophy and Christianity, were
diametrically opposed and constantly at war with one another,
during the third, fourth and fifth centuries.

I have no opinion re the writing of any books, although I note that

Pythagoreans were not supposed to put their more important
teachings into writing. Also, in my view, it is very unlikely that the
founder of Neoplatonic philosophy should have been at the same
time a Christian. The unequivocal disagreement between Porphyry
and Eusebius on these two important issues provides support for
believing that there may have been two different men:  Ammonius
Saccas the Neoplatonist, and Ammonius of Alexandria, the Christian.

I have two other comments:

1)  The Ammonius Crater on the Moon is named in his honor.

2)  The Russian mystic, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891),

called her system of teachings "Theosophy" - an ancient term first
used by Ammonius Saccas. Blavatsky had a profound interest in both
Neoplatonism and Gnosticism and both subjects are still studied by
Theosophical groups around the world.