 Iamblichus’ best-known philosophical doctrine might be the distinction he introduced between the “intelligible” (noēton) and the “intellective” (noeron). Before Iamblichus, noeron—not a very common word before the second century A.D.—was used to refer to any thinking entity, and Porphyry employs it mostly in association with the soul. From Iamblichus onwards, it becomes a technical term which exclusively designates the order of gods located right below the Intelligible, and endowed with demiurgic functions. The word is found with such a meaning in fourth-century authors in the tradition of Iamblichus, such as the emperor Julian and Salustius.