Porphyry of Tyros

Porphyry of Tyre
Porphire Sophiste, in a French 16th-century engraving
Born	c. 234 AD Tyre, Roman Empire
Died	c. 305 AD Rome, Roman Empire
Notable work	List Introduction to Categories (Εἰσαγωγή; Introductio in Praedicamenta or Isagoge et in Aristotelis Categorias commentarium), The Life of Pythagoras (Πυθαγόρου βίος; Vita Pythagorae), On Abstinence from Animal Food (Περὶ ἀποχῆς ἐμψύχων; De Abstinentia ab Esu Animalium), On the Cave of the Nymphs (Περὶ τοῦ ἐν Ὀδυσσείᾳ τῶν Νυμφῶν Ἄντρου; De Antro Nympharum), Introduction to Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos (Εἰσαγωγὴ εἰς τὴν Ἀποτελεσματικὴν τοῦ Πτολεμαίου), Commentary on Ptolemy's Harmonics (Εἰς τὰ ἁρμονικὰ Πτολεμαίου ὑπόμνημα), On the Life of Plotinus and the Arrangement of his Work (Περὶ τοῦ Πλωτίνου βίου καὶ τῆς τάξεως τῶν βιβλίων αὐτοῦ; Vita Plotini), Starting-points leading to the intelligibles (Ἀφορμαὶ πρὸς τὰ νοητά; Sententiae ad intelligibilia ducentes), Philosophy from Oracles (Περὶ τῆς ἐκ λογίων φιλοσοφίας; De Philosophia ex Oraculis Haurienda), Against the Christians (Κατὰ Χριστιανῶν; Adversus Christianos)
Era	Ancient philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Neoplatonism
Influences Plotinus, Middle Platonism, Plato, Aristotle
Influenced Sossianus Hierocles, Boethius, Scholasticism and Arabic Aristotelianism (through the Isagoge), later Neoplatonism

Porphyry of Tyre (/ˈpɔːrfəri/; Greek: Πορφύριος, Porphyrios, Arabic: Furfūriyūs; c. 234 – c. 305 AD) was a Neoplatonic philosopher who was born in Tyre, in the Roman Empire. He edited and published the Enneads, the only collection of the work of his teacher Plotinus. His commentary on Euclid's Elements was used as a source by Pappus of Alexandria.

He also wrote many works himself on a wide variety of topics. His Isagoge, or Introduction, is an introduction to logic and philosophy, and in Latin translation it was the standard textbook on logic throughout the Middle Ages. In addition, through several of his works, most notably Philosophy from Oracles and Against the Christians, which was banned by emperor Constantine the Great, he was involved in a controversy with a number of early Christians.

Porphyry was born in Tyre. His parents named him Malchus ("king" in the Semitic languages) but his teacher in Athens, Cassius Longinus, gave him the name Porphyrius ("clad in purple"), possibly a reference to his Phoenician heritage, or a punning allusion to his name and the color of royal robes. Under Longinus he studied grammar and rhetoric.