This book investigates how the Pythagorean belief in the mathematical structure of reality shaped the development of physics and metaphysics among philosophers in late Antiquity. Dominic J. O'Meara, a scholar of ancient philosophy, utilizes newly discovered fragments of Iamblichus's work to reconstruct the intellectual framework of this period. He argues that these mathematical models were not merely abstract exercises but foundational components for the metaphysical systems of later Neoplatonists like Proclus and Syrianus. The text systematically traces the transmission of these ideas from the 4th and 5th centuries into the medieval and early modern philosophical traditions.

Experts recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of Neoplatonism and the history of mathematical philosophy. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the author's meticulous use of primary source evidence to support his historical claims.