The politics of the one

Abstract

Two often repeated assertions about Plotinus are that he was not interested in mathematics or politics. A recent book has clearly demonstrated his strong attraction to numbers though not necessarily mathematics, but the second theory has not been challenged as seriously as it could be. O'Meara, an expert on Neoplatonic politics, discusses Plato and the later Neoplatonists more than he does Plotinus, yet some unsettling facts remain. Plotinus, after taking part in the emperor Gordian's ill-fated Persian expedition, went to Rome instead of Athens. It is likely that he wanted to avoid any philosophical competition in Athens, but it is also possible that he was to some extent drawn to Roman politics. Most troubling of all is the rationale behind his aborted Platonopolis project.