Who was Porphyry, the student of Plotinus?

Porphyry was a 3rd-century Phoenician Neoplatonic philosopher born in Tyre. He studied under Cassius Longinus and Plotinus, whose writings he edited and published as the Enneads. In addition to preserving Neoplatonism, Porphyry wrote extensively on logic, music, vegetarianism, and famously produced anti-Christian polemics that were later banned.

What we know

• Porphyry was a Phoenician Neoplatonic philosopher born in Tyre, Roman Phoenicia, around 234 AD. [1, 2]
• He edited and published the Enneads, which is the only collection of work by his teacher Plotinus. [2]
• Before studying under Plotinus, Porphyry was a pupil of the Greek rhetorician and philosophical critic Cassius Longinus. [4]
• His introduction to logic and philosophy, known as the Isagoge, served as a standard textbook throughout the Middle Ages. [2]
• Porphyry wrote anti-Christian polemics, including Against the Christians, which was eventually banned by Constantine the Great. [2]

Where to go next

• whoWho was Plotinus?
• a case in pointWhat are the Enneads?
• the bigger pictureHow did Neoplatonism develop in antiquity?
• how we knowWhat did Porphyry argue in Against the Christians?
• compared withWho was Cassius Longinus?
• an unexpected connectionHow did a philosophical textbook shape medieval logic across languages?Porphyry's introductory text on logic became a foundational standard across both the Latin West and the Arabic-speaking Islamic world throughout the Middle Ages.

Sources

• [1]Porphyry (Wikidata Q203445) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Porphyry of Tyre · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Porphyry · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Cassius Longinus (philosopher) · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]List of students of Plotinus · CC BY-SA 4.0