Abstract

The work of the later Greek neo-Platonists remains largely inaccessible to the modern philosopher. Many of the extant texts have not yet been translated from the Greek, and in some cases the texts that have survived are of lesser importance than those that have not, and so must be reconstructed on the basis of reports in later authors. This task of recovery has been undertaken recently in the case of the Syrian Greek Iamblichus by J. M. Dillon, and by Larsen in this, his Aarhus University doctoral dissertation. Larsen collects the historical evidence concerning Iamblichus’ life and literary output. He then analyzes from the point of view of literary form and philosophic significance both the extant works of Iamblichus, and those which survive only in the form of quotations and reports in later authors. He also gives a useful bibliography and his detailed Table of Contents may make up partially for the absence of an Index. In a separate volume, the author brings together the texts of the major quotations and reports in Proclus, Simplicius, et al. on which he bases his account of Iamblichus’ commentaries.