The Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster

The Chaldean Oracles have survived as fragmentary texts from the 2nd century AD, and consist mainly of Hellenistic commentary on a single mystery-poem (which may have been compilations from several oracular sources, considering the random subject changes) that was believed to have originated in Chaldea (Babylonia). They appear to be a syncretic combination of Neoplatonic elements with others that were Persian or Babylonian in origin. Later Neoplatonists, such as Iamblichus and Proclus, rated them highly. The 4th-century Emperor Julian suggests in his Hymn to the Magna Mater that he was an initiate of the God of the Seven Rays, and was an adept of its teachings. When Christian Church Fathers or other Late Antiquity writers credit "the Chaldeans", they are probably referring to this tradition. The main text here was translated by the 19th century Neo-Platonist Thomas Taylor, and I. P. Cory in his Ancient Fragments. This edition was published and introduced by the Theosophist W. W. Westcott in his series Collectanea Hermetica. Despite the twisted background of this text, it has a definite resonance which students of the Esoteric will enjoy. Indeed, W.B. Yeats, who moved in Theosophical circles, was an admirer of this text.