''On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians'' ( grc-gre, Περὶ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων μυστηρίων), also known as the ''Theurgia'' and under its abbreviated

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

title ''De Mysteriis Aegyptiorum'' (''The Egyptian Mysteries''; or often simply ''De Mysteriis''), is a work of

Neoplatonic Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some id ...

philosophy primarily concerned with

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

and

theurgy Theurgy (; ) describes the practice of rituals, sometimes seen as magical in nature, performed with the intention of invoking the action or evoking the presence of one or more deities, especially with the goal of achieving henosis (uniting wi ...

and attributed to

Iamblichus Iamblichus (; grc-gre, Ἰάμβλιχος ; Aramaic: 𐡉𐡌𐡋𐡊𐡅 ''Yamlīḵū''; ) was a Syrian neoplatonic philosopher of Arabic origin. He determined a direction later taken by neoplatonism. Iamblichus was also the biographer of ...

. Porphyry is known to have had a

disagreement A disagreement is the absence of consensus or consent. It can take the form of dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government ...

with Iamblichus over the practice of

, and the ''Mysteries'' consists mainly of Iamblichus' responses to the criticisms of his teacher.

Authorship

Proclus Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers ...

, writing 100 years after Iamblichus, seems to have ascribed to him the authorship of the ''Mysteries''. However, the differences between this book and Iamblichus' other works in style and in some points of doctrine have led some to question whether Iamblichus was the actual author. Still, the treatise certainly originated from his school, and in its systematic attempt to give a speculative justification of the polytheistic cult practices of the day, it marks a turning-point in the history of thought where Iamblichus stood.

There are 10 books in the work, of which the longest are Books 1 and 3. The contents of the books are. *''Book I'': The soul and the gods *''Book II'': Epiphanies *''Book III'': Mantic ritual *''Book IV'': Justice *''Book V'': The nature of sacrifice *''Book VI'': The process and effects of sacrifice *''Book VII'': Egyptian symbolism *''Book VIII'': Egyptian theology *''Book IX'': The personal ''

daemon Daimon or Daemon (Ancient Greek: , "god", "godlike", "power", "fate") originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit such as the daimons of ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and Hell ...

'' (spirit) *''Book X'': Conclusion

Bibliography

References

External links

''On the Egyptian Mysteries'', translated by Thomas Taylor
1821

1911
''De mysteriis Aegyptiorum'', Venice: Aldus Manutius
1497 {{Authority control Neoplatonic texts Late Antique literature Ancient Greeks in Egypt Roman Egypt

Authorship

Contents

See also

Bibliography

References

External links