Valentinus was an early
Christian mystic and
poet.
He was born in
Phrebonis in
Egypt in approx.
100 AD, and educated in
Alexandria. He is occationally
regarded a
gnostic, because of the influence the
mystical knowledge,
gnosticism, has in his thoughts.
Valentinus claimed, like many early mystics, that
he had had a vision of the risen Jesus Christ.
Following his vision, he started his career as
a teacher in Alexandria in 125 AD. His
esoteric teachings attracted a large following
in Egypt and Syria.
His later career is uncertain. He moved to Rome
in 136 AD, where he continued his teachings, and
allegedly died there somewhere between 155 AD
and 165 AD.
His disciples developed his ideas further,
and spread them throughout the Roman Empire.