Iamblichus (redirected from Iamblichus of Chalcis)

Iamblichus (īăm`blĭkəs), d. c.330, Syrian philosopher, a leading exponent of Neoplatonism. A pupil of Porphyry, he was deeply impressed by the doctrines of Plotinus. In his own teachings he combined with Plato's ideas many of those of Pythagoras and much that was mystical and even magical, derived from Asia. His following was large and enthusiastic in his own time, and in the 15th and 16th cent. he was studied with admiring interest. Of his writings on mathematical and philosophical subjects there remain several parts of an extensive work on the philosophy of Pythagoras. His work On the Egyptian Mysteries survives, but his commentaries on Plato and Aristotle have disappeared.

Bibliography

See J. Finamore, Iamblichus and the Theory of the Vehicle of the Soul (1985); S. Gersh, Middle Platonism and Neoplatonism: The Latin Tradition (2 vol., 1986).