Iamblichus on the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians

Neoplatonist philosopher Iamblichus gives a complete canon of pagan religious thought and belief in Taylor's 1821 English translation.

Iamblichus (Author), Thomas Taylor (Translated by)

9781108073042, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 May 2011

396 pages
21.6 x 14 x 2.2 cm, 0.5 kg

This translation from the Greek by Thomas Taylor (1758–1835) was first published in 1821. Taylor's early writings and translations into English influenced such romantic poets as Blake, Coleridge and Keats. Iamblichus is thought to have been born in Syria in the middle of the third century and is regarded as one of the great Neoplatonist philosophers. He founded a school in which he taught 'white magic' or 'theurgy'; he sought to uncover the invisible side of nature and to give Man the means to effect the union of the divine spark with its parent-flame within him. In this work, divided into ten sections, he gives a complete canon of pagan religious thought and belief and explains their background. The Neoplatonist Porphyry's Letter to Anebo, in which he criticises religious rituals and practices, and Iamblichus' response to this criticism, and defence of these traditions, are included.

Introduction
1. The epistle of Porphyry to the Egyptian Anebo
2. Iamblichus on the Mysteries, etc.
3. The answer of the Preceptor Abammon to the epistle of Porphyry to Anebo, and a solution of the doubts contained in it
Additional notes.

Subject Areas: Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA]