NEO-PLATONISM: The Bridge from Pagan to Christian says “Be Transcendent!”

Neo-Platonism was the religion of the educated classes at the beginning of Christian era. It was a stop along the way for St. Augustine, he later invented Christian theology. Without it, Christianity would have been very different and with it, Western civilization.

So what is it and what were its ethics? Why was it popular? What did it give people? Why was it an improvement over the pagan gods? Why did it loose out to Christianity?

I know some Neo-Platonists today, even though they don't know it, in fact, I may be one.