Iamblichus: On the Mysteries

In facing pages of Greek and English, Clark, John M. Dillon, and Jackson P. Hershbell present third-century philosopher Iamblichus' defense of theurgy and answer to Porphyry's Letter to Anebo, composed between 280 and 305. He wrote under the guise of the Egyptian prophet Abamon, and De mysteriis was used by Julian (361-363) as a guide to the ancestral gods that were being suppressed by emergent Christianity. They use the Budé text of Édouard Des Places, who relied on the V and M manuscripts and collated fragment L, which has a part from the 13th century. The Society of Biblical Literature publishes the book and distributes the paperbound edition; Brill distributes the clothbound edition. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR