 In order to assess Iamblichus’ reliability as a witness of ancient Pythagoreanism, one has to take into account a variety of factors, including his attitude towards the information available to him (ranging from literal dependence to creative elaboration for his own ideological and systematic purposes). This is crucial, since the Pythagorean Life in particular is one of our major sources on this subject (for details, see the studies collected in Huffman 2014; von Albrecht et al. 2002).