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Iamblichus | |
|---|---|
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| Born | c. 245[1] |
| Died | c. 325 (agedc. 80) |
| Other names | Iamblichus Chalcidensis, Iamblichus of Chalcis, Iamblichus of Apamea |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | Ancient philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Neoplatonism |
| Main interests | Metaphysics,philosophical cosmology |
| Notable works | List
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Iamblichus (/aɪˈæmblɪkəs/eye-AM-blik-əs;Ancient Greek:Ἰάμβλιχος,romanized: Iámblichos;Aramaic:𐡉𐡌𐡋𐡊𐡅,romanized: Yamlīkū;[2][3]c. 245[4] – c. 325) was aArabNeoplatonistphilosopher who determined a direction later taken by Neoplatonism. Iamblichus was also the biographer of the Greek mystic, philosopher, and mathematicianPythagoras.[5][6][7][8][9] In addition to his philosophical contributions, hisProtrepticus is important for the study of thesophists because it preserved about ten pages of an otherwise unknown sophist known as the Anonymus Iamblichi.[10]
According to theSuda and Iamblichus' biographer,Eunapius, Iamblichus was born in Chalcis (later calledQinnašrīn) inCoele, now in northwestSyria.[11][12] Iamblichus was descended from theEmesene dynasty. He initially studied underAnatolius of Laodicea and later studied underPorphyry, a pupil ofPlotinus (the founder of Neoplatonism). Iamblichus disagreed with Porphyry abouttheurgy, reportedly responding to Porphyry's criticism of the practice inOn the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians.
He returned to Coele Syria around 304 to found a school inApamea (nearAntioch), a city known for its Neoplatonic philosophers. Iamblichus designed a curriculum for studyingPlato andAristotle, and wrote commentaries on the two which survive only in fragments.Pythagoras was his supreme authority, and he wrote the ten-volumeCollection of Pythagorean Doctrines with extracts from several ancient philosophers; only the first four volumes and fragments of the fifth survive.[13]
Iamblichus wrote theExhortation to Philosophy in Apamea during the early fourth century.[14] Considered a man of great culture and learning, he was renowned for his charity and self-denial and had a number of students. According toJohann Albert Fabricius, he died sometime before 333 during the reign ofConstantine the Great.[12]
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Iamblichus detailedPlotinus' Neoplatonic formal divisions, applied Pythagorean number symbolism more systematically, and (influenced by other Asian systems) interpreted Neoplatonic concepts mythically.[15][12] Unlike Plotinus, who broke from platonic tradition by positing a separate soul, Iamblichus re-affirmed the soul's embodiment in matter and believed that matter was as divine as the rest of the cosmos.[15]
Iamblichus placed theMonad at the head of his system, from which emanates theNous (intellect, ordemiurge) and thepsyche. Plotinus represented theNous as three stages: objective being, subjective life, and realized intellect. Iamblichus divided them into two spheres: intelligible (the objects of thought) and intellective (the domain of thought).[16]
Iamblichus andProclus may have introduced a third sphere between the two worlds, separating and uniting them.[17] The identification ofnous with the demiurge in the Neoplatonic tradition was adopted and developed in Christiangnosticism.Augustine of Hippo follows Plotinus, identifying thenous withlogos (the creative principle) as part of theTrinity.[18][19]
Iamblichus multiplied the number of divine entities according to universalmathematical theorems. He conceived of gods, angels, demons and heroes: twelve heavenly gods (whose number increases to 36 or 360), 72 other gods proceeding from them, 21 chiefs and 42 nature-gods. His divine realm extends from the Monad to material nature, where the soul descends into matter and becomes embodied in human form. These superhuman beings influence natural events and communicate knowledge about the future, and are accessible with prayers and offerings. Iamblichus posited that numbers are independent, occupying a middle realm between the limited and unlimited.[19] He believed that nature was bound byfate, differing from divine things which are not subject to fate and turnevil and imperfection to good ends; evil was generated accidentally in the conflict between the finite and theinfinite.[19]
Only a fraction of Iamblichus' books have survived; knowledge of his system is preserved in fragments of writings preserved byStobaeus and others: notes by his successors (especiallyProclus), his five extant books and sections of his work onPythagoreanism. In addition to these, Proclus attributed to him theOn the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians, also known asThe Theurgia. Although stylistic and doctrinal differences exist between this book and Iamblichus' other works, it originated from his school at least.[12] Iamblichus also completed a coherent polytheist theological system under the Egyptian pseudonymAbammon.[20]
Iamblichus was praised by his followers, and contemporaries credited him withmiraculous powers. The Roman emperorJulian, not content with Eunapius' modest eulogy that Iamblichus was inferior to Porphyry only in style, regarded him as second only to Plato and said that he would give all the gold inLydia for one of his letters. During the 15th- and 16th-century revival of interest in his philosophy, Iamblichus' name was rarely mentioned without the epithet "divine" or "most divine".[12]
The ancestry of Iamblichus, usually regarded as Syrian, was almost certainly Arabic ethnically.
It is very likely that he was ethnically Arab Nabatean, like his predecessor Iamblichus, and was part of some kind of priestly or cultic involved family.
The novelBabyloniaca orRhodanis andSinonis is certainly Arabic, and both the philosopher and the novelist were Arabs.
Eunapius reports (Vit. soph. 457) that Iamblichus was born in Chalcis "in Coele (Syria)." After Septimus Severus's division of the Syrian command in 194 C.W., this refers not to southern but to northern Syria, and so the Chalcis in question must be Chalcis ad Belum, modern Qinnesrin, a strategically important town to the east of the Orontes valley, on the road from Beroea (Aleppo) to Apamea, and from Antioch to the East.The son of a wealthy, well-known family,
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Sorley, William Ritchie (1911). "Iamblichus". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 213–215.
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