Mystic, mathematician, and metaphysical maximalist. Iamblichus of Chalcis (c. 245–c. 325 CE) took Neoplatonism and turbocharged it with Pythagorean ritual, divine hierarchies, and number magic. He didn’t just think — he theurgized. For Iamblichus, philosophy wasn’t an argument, it was an ascent. He saw math as the key to unlocking spiritual realities and gave Pythagoras a divine glow-up. Intense, obscure, and endlessly layered — studying Iamblichus is like trying to diagram the cosmos from the inside.