Father of most common version of Gnosticism (Valentinianism), born in Egypt, trained in Hellenistic science in Alexandria, and disseminated his views in Rome. He was excommunicated from the Roman orthodox community for attempting to establish his heretical system but continued to teach in Cyprus. He died in A.D. 160 or 161.
Tertullian ascribes to him the apocryphal Gospel of Valentinus, also known as the Gospel of Truth according to Irenaeus. His more prominent disciples included Heracleon, Ptolemy, Marcos, and Bardesanes.
He claims his ideas originate from Theodas or Theudas, but he obviously reconciled Greek and Oriental systems with Christian ideas. From Plato, he derived the parallel between the pleroma and kenoma. From the New Testament, he justified personal cosmological and pantheistic views. His views are characterized by dualism. His school divided into two branches - the Oriental (Egypt, Syria, and Asia Minor) and the Italian (Rome, Italy, Southern Gaul).
Bythos after ages of silence and contemplation gave rise to other beings through emanation at the beginning of all things. The first series was the 30 aeons, representing 15 syzygies. Through the sin of Sophia, the lower material world was born. Man, its highest being, participates in both psychic and hylic nature. Redemption involves freeing the spiritual from its servitude to the lower. This was Christ's (who lacked a real body and never suffered) and the Holy Spirit's mission.
(https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15256a.htm [IRENAEUS, Against Heresies I.1 seq. and III.4; HIPPOLYTUS, Philosophumena, VI, 20-37; | TERTULLIAN, Adv. Valentin.; EPIPHANIUS, Haer., XXXI; THEODORET, Haer. Fab., I, 7; HEINRICI, Die Valentin. Gnosis u. die heilige Schrift (Berlin, 1871). See bibliography to GNOSTICISM.])