Zur Biographie Plotins

This chapter offers information on the so-called Vita Plotini of Porphyry, which the latter had prefixed to his edition of Plotinus’ writings. After sketching the historical background against which this text was written, the Vita Plotini is described as a biography. The chronological order of Plotinus’ writings is presented, as well as Porphyry’s thematic and anagogical arrangement of Plotinus’ writings into Enneads. Finally, the Vita Plotini is surveyed under literary aspects and interpreted as a text with programmatic philosophical and hagiographic tendencies.