Porphyry (234?–305? C.E.) was a Neoplatonist philosopher born in Tyre in Phoenicia. He studied with Longinus in Athens and then with Plotinus in Rome from 263–269 C.E. and became a follower of the latter’s version of Platonism. Porphyry wrote in just about every branch of learning practiced at the time but only a portion of his large output is extant. Porphyry was an influential thinker. He applied Neoplatonism to pagan religion and other spheres and is, as such, a key figure in the promulgation of Neoplatonic thought. His writings on Aristotle’s logical works, preserved in part and influential in the Latin West through Boethius’ translations, contain attempts to harmonize Aristotle’s logical writings with Platonism. Such reconciliatory attitude towards Aristotle characterizes much of his philosophy.
