ABSTRACT
Iamblichus' concept of divine inspiration rests on two central points: the recipient is wholly possessed by the gods and consequently, he or she does not act or experience in a human manner using sense perception. The philosopher describes states of divine possession which occur in cults where musical instruments are used to encourage or induce a state of receptivity in the human being. Iamblichus quotes Porphyry, who argues that those who are divinely inspired and apprehend the future often do so in a waking state, and so they act and operate with their sense-perception. Iamblichus' theory is based on the Platonic theory of Recollection: Plato had discussed the way in which the human soul travelled in the train of the gods and glimpsed the divine realm before descending into a body in the physical world. The idea of the simultaneous transcendence and immanence of the gods forms the central foundation of Iamblichus' cosmology and religious conceptions.
