Iamblichus: On the Mysteries (Writings from the Greco-Roman World, V. 4.) (English and Greek Edition) (Writings from the Greco-roman World, 4)

It is owed to the shrewdly critical philosophical mind of Porphyry--the former teacher of Iamblichus--that the ‘De Mysteriis’ was written; it was indeed born from the competitive spirits of two of late antiquity’s most eminent geniuses. Now the title stems from an 11th century superscription made to the manuscript by Michael Psellus; it suggests that Porphyry wrote a letter to a scribe “Anebo,” who was a student of the “master Abammon.” For all that is worth, one thing is quite true: that in the ‘De Mysteriis’ Iamblichus assumes the pseudonymous name of a supposed Egyptian priest, named “Abammon” in response to the literary onslaught of Porphyry, who himself espoused a less sophisticated brand of theurgy than his former student, Iamblichus. It is of moment to point out that the assumption of the priestly name Abammon virtually allows Iamblichus to immerse himself in the subject-matter of the treatise by becoming the personification of an Egyptian hierarch, an adept in all things theurgical. By being cast in this priestly role, Iamblichus legimates his claims to the validity of theurgy in the face of his auditor, Porphyry. In sum, the dispute arises from Porphyry’s endearment of reason and ethical purity over the systems of mysticism, of the latent power of the human intellect and its natural capacity to grasp the divine through discursive reason over above the rituals of theurgy. Iamblichus, on the other hand, is wed to the idea that theurgy, in all its forms, is “superior to all judgement and choice, reason and proof [1.3].” Iamblichus says, moreover, “it is not by pure thought that unites theurgist to the gods. Indeed what would hinder those who are theoretical philosophers from enjoying a theurgic union with the gods? But the situation is not so: it is the accomplishment of acts not to be divulged and beyond all conception, and the power of unutterable symbols, understood solely by the gods, which establishes theurgic union [2.11].” Thus, according to Iamblichus, union with the gods is brought about by the gods and not by the exercise of human intellect and morality alone. Many more examples could be given, however that is not within the scope of this review. Something must be said about the nature of this edition. This is a much needed critical text which ultimately supplants the centuries old version of the great Thomas Taylor. The text contains a superb introduction, the full Greek text accompanied by translation and is it buttressed with learned annotations. This book is of great value in and of itself, as are all the titles in the splendid series printed by the Society of Biblical Literature.

De Mysteriis is written under the name "Abamon" represented as an Egyptian, Proclus however identified Iamblichus as the author and many scholars follow his queue and ascribe this to Iamblichus, indeed the notes in this book points out times where the author seems to forget his roleplaying and the mask slips. In any case the book seems to be in large part a response to a letter of Porphyry's which was sent to an Egyptian priest by the name of Anebo, Porphyry had some queries about theurgical practice to ask Anebo, Porphyry while perhaps somewhat sympathetic was suspicious of the value of theurgy in raising the soul through to the One. Throughout De Mysteriis "Abamon" attempts to answer Porphyry and address his doubts. This is a defence of theurgy as well as an exposition of its function and the universe it takes place in, there is even a little bit allegorical religio-philosophical interpretations of Egyptian myth in this book. Divination is also defended.This book is filled to the brim with superstition, a sort of occultic theosophic religio-philosophy. It seems to me that Iamblichus was very capable of answering Porphyry's questions, in fact one time in the book Porphyry is reported to have said something rather strange that seemed very inconsistent with the entire system of Neoplatonism and Iamblichus pounces on this and tears down what was said with ease.So again; this book is filled with superstition, however among all the dross there is still a little bit of good, that is if one is reading it for plain philosophical thought, as to its historical value of course it is all good for this is an important book. Indeed Iamblichus is part of a line that goes to Proclus and through Proclus (it would seem) comes to influence the angelology of Pseudo-Dionysius, who wrote some monumentally influential texts.

Finally an English Translation of Iamblichus' letters On The Mysteries that is both readable and profound. Well done!Along with the works of Plato, Plotinus, and Proclus this work can easily be considered as a cornerstone of the great Pythagorean-Neoplatonic tradition. Unlike Plato Iamblichus is writing here on esoteric subjects without the usual veils that hide the Mysteries from the uninitiated public. This is probably due to the fact that he is writing in the form of letters to Porphyry, a highly developed student in his own right, and not to the general public.Except for the distracting not very useful footnotes this translation along with its very informative Introduction is nearly perfect. I recommend it highly.

This is an excellent read. Great insight into theurgy. Religious rites has meaning for me now. The book emphasizes the necessity of theurgic rites because of the soul's descent into matter and the need for divine union. I highly recommend this book.

I was very excited to get my copy of this classic work. From all the reviews I read I thought this would be the best version being more accurate in the translation than the previous one. However, I think the translation is a little too literal in some cases which tends to obscure the meaning of the text unless you are familiar with the colloquialisms they are translating. For example they use the phrase "necessity of the Gods" in reference to magical work where other translations use the word "spell" as in magical spell. Although the phrase gives an interesting insight into the thinking of Iamblichus, "necessity of the Gods" doesn't help the lay reader understand what he is talking about in that section.Overall it is a good translation, but make sure to read other translations as well to get some insight into what Iamblicus is actually trying to say.

First class work.

All this talk about "new age" and ancient traditions, Wicca, etc. Go to the source. Iamblichus is the last pagan philosopher and practitioner of theurgy, before the dark ages covered all of the West. I think only professors and serious graduate students are the target audience but if you are like me and trying to go to the source of things, genuine sources that is, well worth it.

the best series on the subject.and therefor worth the priceVery good books, when you have oneyou want them all

i enjoyed this book very much, its full of wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Its has good teaching and insight towards the mysteries..