Iamblichus (Īămˈblĭkəs) [key], d. c.330, Syrian philosopher, a
leading exponent of Neoplatonism. A pupil of Porphyry, he was
deeply impressed by the doctrines of Plotinus. In his own
teachings he combined with Plato's ideas many of those of
Pythagoras and much that was mystical and even magical, derived
from Asia. His following was large and enthusiastic in his own
time, and in the 15th and 16th cent. he was studied with
admiring interest. Of his writings on mathematical and
philosophical subjects there remain several parts of an
extensive work on the philosophy of Pythagoras. His work On the
Egyptian Mysteries survives, but his commentaries on Plato and
Aristotle have disappeared. See J. Finamore, Iamblichus and the
Theory of the Vehicle of the Soul (1985); S. Gersh, Middle
Platonism and Neoplatonism: The Latin Tradition (2 vol., 1986).
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