File:Portrait_of_Porphyry_of_Tyre_from_Les_vrais_pourtraits_et_vies_des_hommes_illustres_grecz,_latins_et_payens.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Porphyry
Sign in to saveAlso known as Porphyry of Tyre, Malchus
3rd-century Greek Neoplatonist philosopher
OverviewAI-generated
Porphyry was a philosopher who lived from 233 to 301. He is associated with a collection of 36 works, while another source lists 5 works. His writings include statements on the nature of the body and diet, such as the observation that every body is in place, but nothing essentially incorporeal has any locality. He also noted that a fleshless diet contributes to health and endurance in philosophical work.
The philosopher’s ideas are preserved in various quotations, including the assertion that every good thing is gentle and consistent, progressing in good order. His legacy is reflected in the fact that he is referenced by 1,018 other encyclopedia articles.
Synthesized by Vinony from 11 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, Last.fm, Europeana Sparql, Crossref, Wikiquote, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 28
- Total plays
- 195
Porphyry resides in Perth, Western Australia (the hub of much great music). He is an independent artist whose collection of songs are steadily growing. He has recorded his songs for distribution amongst his mates. Look out for him on open mic stages around Perth. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Porphyry">Read more on Last.fm</a>
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- On Abstinence from Animal Food
· 1999 · cited 10x
- CXIII.—Polymorphism of arsenic
· 1922 · cited 3x
- On the Life of Plotinus and the Order of His Books
· 1969 · cited 2x
- 王安镇火山-侵入岩成因：来自全岩地球化学和Sr-Nd-Pb同位素的证据
· 2026
- Porphyry's Launching-Points to the Realm of Mind: An Introduction to the Neoplatonic Philosophy of Plotinus
· 1990
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “Every body is in place; but nothing essentially incorporeal, or any thing of this kind, has any locality.”
- “Soul, indeed, is a certain medium between an impartible essence, and an essence which is divisible about bodies. But intellect is an impartible essence alone. And qualities and material forms are divisible about bodies. Not everything which acts on another, effects that which it does effect by approximation and contact; but those natures which effect any thing by approximation and contact, use approximation accidentally.”
- “Incorporeal hypostases, in descending, are distributed into parts, and multiplied about individuals with a diminution of power; but when they ascend by their energies beyond bodies, they become united, and proceed into a simultaneous subsistence, through exuberance of power.”
- “The fleshless diet contributes to health and to a suitable endurance of hard work in philosophy.”
- “I think that when friendship and perception of kinship ruled everything, no one killed any creature, because people thought the other animals were related to them.”
- “Every good thing is gentle and consistent, progressing in good order and not going beyond what is right.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Ancient Rome
- Place of birth
- Tyre
- Place of death
- Rome
- Occupation
- writer
- Languages spoken
- Latin
- Field of work
- philosophy
- Image
- Porphyrios Sucevita Fresco (cropped).jpg
- Work location
- Rome
Show 12 more facts
- described by source
- Pauly–Wissowa
- maintained by WikiProject
- WikiProject Mathematics
- Commons category
- Porphyry (philosopher)
- date of death
- 0301-00-00
- date of birth
- 0233-00-00
- student
- Iamblichus
- time period
- Roman Empire
- writing language
- Latin
- birth name
- Malchus
- name in native language
- Πορφύριος
- P12749
- Magnus Hirschfeld
- Commons Creator page
- Porphyry
via Wikidata · CC0
Works in European collections
36 objects attributed to Porphyry, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana
Porphyrii Institutio. Aristotelis categoriae. Eiusdem......., id is from interpretaione Liber. Analyticcon priorum eiusdem.i partitionum priorum Lib. II. Partitionum posteriorum, siue Partiatis scientiae Lib. II
Logices adminicula hic contenta
Porphyrii Institutio. Aristotelis categoriae
Porphyrii introductio in Apotelesmata Ptolemaei
Porphyrii Introductio
Porphyrii Introductio in decem praedicamenta Aristotelis
Porphyrii Introductio
Porphyrius De Porinentia ab animantibus
Porphyrii philosophi pythagorrici de non necandis ad epulandum animantibus libri IIII [Texto impreso]; eiusdem... sententiae ducentes ad inteligentiam rerum quae mente noscuntur
Porphyriu Peri tu en tē Odysseia tōn nymphōn antru = De antro Nympharum
De vita Pythagorae
Porphyrii Philosophi Ad Marcellam :Accedit Eiusdem Porphyrii Poëticum Fragmentum
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Encyclopedic overview
Porphyry (/ˈpɔːrfɪri/; Koine Greek: Πορφύριος, romanized: Porphýrios; c. 234 – c. AD 305) was a Phoenician Neoplatonic philosopher born in Tyre, Roman Phoenicia during Roman rule. He edited and published the Enneads, the only collection of the work of Plotinus, his teacher.
He wrote original works in the Greek language on a wide variety of topics, ranging from music theory to Homer to vegetarianism. His Isagoge or Introduction, an introduction to logic and philosophy, was the standard textbook on logic throughout the Middle Ages in its Latin and Arabic translations. Porphyry was, and still is, also well known for his anti-Christian polemics. Through works such as Philosophy from Oracles and Against the Christians (which was banned by Constantine the Great), he was involved in a controversy with early Christians.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Porphyry” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.