 In addition to internal debates among Iamblichus’ disciples, fourth-century philosophy includes an overtly anti-Iamblichean trend. This is the case with Themistius (orator, commentator of Aristotle and authoritative member of the Senate in Constantinople), who did not endorse Iamblichus’ philosophy and did not show any sympathy for his theurgic and Pythagorean teaching. He actually sharply criticizes the new philosophical approach represented by the “man of Chalcis” (an allusion to Iamblichus: see Themistius, Or. 23, 295b). Themistius engaged in a controversy with Maximus of Ephesus over Aristotle’s logic in Constantinople, where Julian acted as arbiter (Ammonius, In Analytica Priora., p. 31.11–23). Furthermore, Themistius regarded the Pythagorean Archytas’ treatise on the categories as spurious and argued that the author was not a Pythagorean at all (Boethius, In Categorias, PL 64, 162 A). By doing so Themistius actually removed the main support for Iamblichus’ Pythagorean and metaphysical reading of Aristotle. Iamblichus’ philosophy, then, was only gradually accepted and it was regarded with both consensus and disagreement in its immediate posterity. Certainly, Iamblichus’ philosophical approach did not entail any abandonment of rational methods, not even among those who enthusiastically embraced theurgy.