Treading the path of enlightenment

Sebastian Milbank

IN AD 242, A ROMAN ARMY MARCHED EAST-wards, led by Emperor Gordian III, determined to defeat Rome’s nemesis, the Sassanid Empire. Gordian dreamed of replicating the achievements of Alexander the Great, his eyes set on Persia and distant India. He was not alone. Gordian III has been largely forgotten by history, his campaign ending in bloody failure, but marching behind his legions came a name that has shaped world history forever: the philosopher Plotinus. Today, Plotinus is famous as the father of Neoplatonism, a philosophical tradition derived from the inheritance of Platonic and Aristotelian thought that has gone on to shape not just academic philosophy but also the great monotheistic religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. He learnt philosophy in Alexandria, Egypt’s great cultural crossroads and one of the intellectual…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 2025

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