IAMBLICHUS (d. c. A.D. 33o), the chief representative of Syrian Neoplatonism, was born at Chalcis in Coele-Syria of an illustrious family. He studied under Porphyry in Rome, and later taught in Syria. Although his commentaries on Plato and Aris totle, and works on the Chaldaean theology and on the soul, are lost, fragments of them have been preserved by Stobaeus and others. Proclus mentions his five extant books, which are parts of a great work on Pythagorean philosophy, and ascribes to him the celebrated book On the Egyptian Mysteries, which probably only emanated from his school. As a philosopher, Iamblichus had little originality. His contemporaries, like his admirers of the 15th and i6th centuries, looked upon him with extravagant veneration, but Eunapius, his biographer, merely says that he was inferior to Porphyry only in style. The modifications of Neoplatonism intro duced by Iamblichus were the elaboration of its formal divisions, the more systematic application of the Pythagorean number-sym bolism, and chiefly, under the influence of Oriental systems, a mys tical colouring. Immediately after the absolute one of Plotinus (see NEOPLATONISM), Iamblichus introduced a second superexistent unity as the producer of intellect, and modified the three succeed ing moments of the emanation (intellect, soul and nature). He speaks of them as intellectual, supramundane and mundane gods. The first of these is again distinguished into spheres of intelligible gods and of intellectual gods, each subdivided into triads, the latter sphere being the place of ideas, the former of the archetypes of these ideas. He identifies the Demiurge, Zeus, or world-creating potency with the perfected vows (intellect), the intellectual triad being increased to a hebdomad, probably (as Zeller supposes) through the subdivision of its first two members. As in Plotinus vows produced nature by mediation of tiuXri (soul), so here the intelligible gods are followed by a triad of psychic gods. The first of these is incommunicable and supramundane, while the other two seem to be mundane though rational. In the third class, or mun dane gods, there is a great variety of gods, angels, demons and heroes. The world is thus peopled by a crowd of superhuman be ings influencing natural events, possessing and communicating knowledge of the future, and not inaccessible to prayers and offer ings. Nature is bound by the indissoluble chains of necessity, but being the result of higher powers becoming corporeal, a continual stream of elevating influence flows from them, interfering with the necessary laws and turning to good the imperfect and evil which is said to have been generated accidentally.