ABSTRACT
Iamblichus of Chalcis (c.245-c.325 ce) was third in the succession of major Neoplatonic philosophers (a er Plotinus and his pupil Porphyry), was possibly the student of Porphyry himself (and certainly knew him), and was the founder of his own school in Apamea in Syria. He is noted especially for bringing religious ritual (theurgy) into Neoplatonism. His de Mysteriis is a refutation of the more moderate Neoplatonism of Porphyry. In it Iamblichus argues for a correct kind of magic ritual to be used in practising his brand of Platonism. Iamblichus established a hierarchy of divinities from the One down through the realm of Nature, all of which were essential in the human being’s ascent to the gods.1
