Iamblichus’ Investiture of Pythagoras

The paper draws a parallel between Iamblichus' presentation of Pythagoras in the first lines of On the Pythagorean Way of Life, and Aristotle's presentation of Thales in Metaphysics A. Although the texts present two different accounts of the origins of philosophy, they nevertheless feature strong parallels such as the Greek formulation used to invest the two philosophers with the role of 'πρῶτος εὐρητής'. Consequently, Iamblichus seems to exploit the Aristotelian pattern in order to re-locate the discipline of philosophy within the divine domain so to allow and legitimate the foundation of his peculiar declension of Pythagoreanism.