  As said before, it is very difficult to mark off Proclus’ originality with regard to his teacher Syrianus, the only predecessor he never criticizes. Of the literary production of the latter, we have only his Commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics. It is possible that most of Syrianus’ courses on Plato never were published, but were continued and further worked out by Proclus himself. We have, however, the commentary on the Phaedrus by Hermeias, who was sitting together with Proclus, in Syrianus’ course. One gets the impression that Syrianus was very interested in Orphic theogony, whereas for Proclus the Chaldaean Oracles are more authoritative when developing a Platonic theology. But here again, it is difficult to compare as we do not possess Proclus’ own commentary. Is Proclus after all then not so original, but only an excellent teacher and wonderful systematizer of the new Platonic doctrines which became dominant in the school since Iamblichus on? We shall never know, and it is after all not so important when assessing the philosophical merits of his works. To praise Proclus’ philosophical achievements, Marinus devotes in Life of Proclus one chapter to the discussion of the doctrines we owe to him (§ 23). Surprisingly, for all his admiration for the master, he can only enumerate a few innovative doctrines; and they are of such a minor importance that we shall not even discuss them in this article.