Origen, a philosopher and theologian, took over the Catechetical School at Alexandria in 202. He is interesting, because he left in 215 during the carnage that Caracalla had left in his wake, and then again permanently in 230 when he went to Palestine. He was known for combining his intellectual fervor and his rigorous scholarship with extreme personal ascetism   (he is said in some sources to have submitted voluntarily to castration, so that he would be able to teach women without incurring suspicion). He also learned Hebrew, which allowed him to compile a synopsis of the various versions of the Old Testament. He wrote an important treatise on philosophical as well as doctrinal matter, but his most unique and lasting contribution lay in his exposition and his exegesis of the Scriptures.